Unstable
by Bensler
Summary: Pre-ep for Season 11 Premiere: Unstable. Benson & Stabler have some unwanted help in solving a rape. Will it solve some other issues as well? Let's find out.
1. Unbelievable

**DISCLAIMER THINGY:** Maybe for my birthday or Christmas, Mr. Wolf will wrap them and tie them up (hmmm) with some pretty ribbon and give them to me. But until then, sadly, the inhabitants of SVU do not belong to me.

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**The pictures from behind the scenes for the season premiere and some of the stuff I have read gave me an idea for a pre-ep. I may be totally off base (and of course I am about EK - but I can dream), but wouldn't it be something if my story happens to be anywhere near the real thing? I've never done a 'pre' ep...so let me know what you think. " ) Bensler**

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**By Bensler**

**Chapter 1 ~ Unbelievable**

**SVU Squadroom – Thursday, September 24 – 2:10 p.m.**

Olivia watched Elliot scowl at Nate Kendal. The NYPD detective helping SVU solve a rape case had not earned any friends in the unit, but on the other hand, he had collected quite an assortment of enemies. He was brusque, rude and moody, not to mention a know it all. Elliot had nothing on this character.

The sleeves of his checkered blue and white shirt rolled up, Elliot crossed his arms tightly over his chest, and Nate, still wearing his black leather jacket even though it was warm in the office, were nearly toe to toe arguing over the validity of the rape case that Nate had insisted working with SVU. Since he was the one who had saved the rape victim, his logic was that he should be in on finding the rapist. Elliot did not want his help.

"I'm telling you she was raped!" Kendal hollered, his hands flying in the air.

"And I'm telling you that Warner did _not_ find any fluids, only spermicide. No obvious trauma, no defensive wounds, nothing. There was no forced entry to the apartment, no signs of a struggle, so it could be she wasn't raped…she had consensual sex and just wants to give the guy some trouble," Elliot reiterated to Kendal.

His voice was low and gravelly, the vein in his neck pulsating, his jaw clenching, and Olivia knew he was close to blowing a gasket. From the moment Kendal had stepped into the squad room looking for Benson and Stabler, Elliot did not like him. She was not exactly fond of him herself. She recalled yesterday morning and the initial conversation.

**SVU Squadroom – Wednesday, September 23 – 10:30 a.m.**

_It had been quiet morning when a tall, big built man with a deep tan and dark hair filled the doorway to the SVU. His eyes swept the room and he caught Munch's attention. "Can I help you?" Munch had asked the younger detective, wondering just who this NYPD badge wearing stranger was and what he needed._

_Merely glancing at him, his eyes shifted dismissively from Munch and back to scan the room. "Looking for Benson and Stabler," he curtly responded._

_By now Olivia had seen and heard him and was coming around the side of her desk to meet him. "I'm Detective Benson." Smiling, she held out her hand. "And you are…" _

_Boldly, he looked her up and down, raised an eyebrow and replied, "Anyone you want me to be." He broke into a suggestive leer as his eyes traveled her body one more time._

_Giving him a slight smile of disgust, she snorted and shook her head. "What can I do for you?" _

"_Anything you want, honey; you can do anything you want," he smirked, his eyes raking her yet again._

_Elliot now standing right behind Olivia did not miss the interaction and was about two seconds away from grabbing the guy and tossing him out on his head._

_Sensing his growing irritation, and movement, Olivia quietly spoke, warning him, "El..." _

_Glancing down at her, he managed to hold his tongue and his fists in check._

"_Detective Stabler," Elliot growled as he stepped between the man and Olivia, his eyes cold as steel, making it clear he had seen and heard the insinuations and was not pleased. "There something you want?"_

_Olivia was instantly angered by his misaligned need to protect her, and stepped out from behind him to stand at his side._

_Kendal looked at Elliot and then around him at Olivia and followed her with his eyes as she came from behind him. "Yeah…I got a rape case I want to work with you on," he looked back at Elliot._

**SVU Squadroom – Thursday, September 24 – 2:10 p.m.**

She had to find a way to diffuse the situation before it escalated to the physical or word got back to the Captain about all the yelling. Cragen had already reprimanded Kendal yesterday as well as informed her and Elliot that they '_would_ find a way to work with him'.

"She says she was raped! I believe her!" Kendal exclaimed. "What's your problem, Stabler? I thought SVU was on the side of rape victims!"

Elliot, his hands fisting at his side, took a step toward him, a menacing look filling his features, "You listen here…"

Quickly, Olivia came to stand between the two men, touching Elliot lightly on the arm as she moved in front of him. "Nate, Elliot's been in SVU for over fourteen years. All he's saying is the evidence is not adding up to her claim of rape," she locked her eyes on Kendal and silentely willed Elliot to stay put and keep quiet.

"The woman said she was raped. You're a woman, Liv…how can _you_ question her?" he asked as he squinted and shook his head.

"I'm not questioning her…it's just…we have to look at the evidence. That's true whether it's homicide, narcotics, or special vics," she reminded him, sighing heavily. "Right now, there's not any that supports her claim."

Nate stared at her for a long moment and then agreed, "You're right. I just…I want to catch this guy."

"We all do," she reminded him.

**SVU Locker Room – Thursday, September 24 – 9:48 p.m.**

Nate Kendal was not the only reason Elliot was in a bad mood. He had been alternately quiet and explosive, on edge for over two months. Olivia had tried a couple of times to get him to talk but he pushed her away. She finally gave up. Now that she was older she did not put up with his antics like she used to in the past. Whether it was because she had become smarter and realized nothing she did or said ever seemed to make a difference, or whether she had simply come to the point that she was not going to allow him to subject her to his anger any more, she did know she did not deserve to be treated like she was worthless and nothing but another of his problems. So she pretty much steered clear of him when he was like this.

Entering the locker room, she was startled to see him sitting on the floor in the half dark, eyes closed, his head leaning back on the lockers near hers and his. He had changed into sweatpants and stripped to his wife beater. Stopping, she eyed him warily before continuing on to her own locker. She didn't speak or even look at him as she began to twist the lock to the numbers of the combination.

"Heading out?" he asked quietly.

His face was partially hidden in the dark, the other half partially lit by the one, dim light near the door. Even so she could see the stubble on his jaw and the weariness in his one eye. His voice sounded gruff, full of emotion and she wondered why.

"Uh-huh. Thought you already left."

That was yet another way she knew something was going on with him – half the time he didn't speak when he arrived in the morning or say good night when he left. She would think he was getting up to get a file or a cup of coffee and then when he never came back she would realize he was gone. It had been two and half hours since she had last seen him this evening.

The only response was a short grunt. Looking down at her partner, she felt sorry for him. He seemed depressed, lost and she didn't know what to say because she didn't want to risk being blown off. Or blown up for sticking her nose in his business. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was almost ten. Deciding that gave her something safe to say, she spoke, "It's getting kind of late…and we've got a really early morning."

Cragen wanted everyone back by six in the morning.

"Yeah…so, you going home now?"

"Uh-huh. You?"

There was a long pause and then he answered. "No one's there."

"Oh…well, you should be able to get some rest then."

"No. I mean, no one's there."

Her breath caught and her mind started reeling. "Kathy and the kids at her parents' or something?"

Shaking his head, he looked down at his watch and lit it up to see the time. "No, they're at home."

What? Didn't he just say no one was at home? "I thought you just said…"

"No one's at _my_ place." When he lifted his gaze to meet hers that was when she saw in his eyes what he was trying to tell her.

Searching his face, silence seemed the way to go at the moment. Taking a quick look at his left hand, she saw the gold band was still in place, so what did that mean, she wondered? What did he mean?

Leaning back into the locker again, he let out a long sigh. "No comment?"

Shrugging, she slid to the floor to sit beside him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

A smile tugged at one corner as he looked her straight in the eyes, "I'm not."

It was unbelievable, but for a change he seemed to want to talk, so she started asking questions. "When?"

"Eleven weeks ago yesterday."

"Eleven weeks? And you _never_ said anything?! El, why didn't you tell me?" Against her will, her voice escalated and she knew it would only serve to make him mad. "I'm sorry…you don't owe me an explanation…it's none of my business."

"No, no. I should have told you. I _wanted_ to tell you…I just…I don't know. I didn't want you to know I was a failure…"

"El, you're not a failure. Not at all."

"Then why do I feel like one?"

"Kathy won't give you another chance? I'm sure she would…just ask her. You could get counseling…" Why did she keep trying to give him ideas to save his marriage? If the truth be known, her heart was racing with thoughts that this time, she would find a way to tell him how she really felt about him. She would not let this opportunity slide by like she had for the two years he and Kathy had been separated a few years back.

"I don't want another chance. I'm the one who walked this time." He tried to gauge her reaction, but she quickly turned her eyes away and stared at the floor as she pulled her legs closer to her body.

Elliot left Kathy. _Elliot_ left Kathy. He left her. So why was he acting so angry, so miserable. She supposed no matter how bad the marriage, how horrific the fights, it still had to be hard to end a relationship of so many years, especially one that had borne children. Still she had to wonder why he seemed so upset and lost so much of these last months.

When she said nothing, he spoke again. "I only went back because of Eli. We still fought," he snorted, "fight all the time. The deal with Kathleen when I gave that necklace she stole to the prosecution…Kathy was so mad. She threatened to leave me then."

Elliot watched Olivia as she continued to stare at the floor. Leaning toward her, he bumped their shoulders together, and whispered close to her ear, "So how come you never told me you convinced her not to leave me during the Bushido case?"

Her head snapped up and at last her eyes locked with his for a long moment before she looked away again. He was so close to her. _Too_ close. "I don't…I don't know. I guess I forgot."

Chuckling, he threw his head back again and closed his eyes. "You forgot? You really expect me to believe that, Olivia?"

The silence stretched between them and she wished she had not sat down beside him. She wished she could think of something to say that would not seem like an effort to change the subject. Though there were at least eight to ten inches between them, she was very aware of his body heat and his presence.

"Just like you forgot to tell me she came to you to get me to sign the divorce papers the first time?"

Frowning as she turned to him, she asked, "Kathy told you about that?"

"Why are you so surprised? She tells me a lot of things in the middle of fights when she's screaming at me."

Biting her lips, she looked away. "She…she shouldn't have…" her voice trailed off and she shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I don't mean she shouldn't have told you…I mean she…I…nothing."

"No…tell me. Please."

"She should _not_ have put me in the middle like that."

"Why not? You always _were_ in the middle."

Snapping her head sharply toward him her mouth flew open and her eyes widened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what it sounds like it means. She's always been jealous of you. You know that, Liv. I've told you plenty of times. And I always reassured her she had nothing to worry about. She didn't. Not at first…"

"Elliot…"

"After Gitano…it all changed. You know, I always told her about our undercover stints…but not this time. I didn't tell her about that night with Bushido and Tybor."

"Elliot…don't go there," she warned. She did not want to be reminded of being half dressed and pushing herself against his bare chest.

"I was just going to say that if I told her, she would have been more jealous than ever."

Slightly nodded her head, she agreed, "I know."

"You know?"

"She told me, too."

"_She_ told _you_?" Elliot asked incredulously.

"Uh-huh. Said she was jealous of me because she thought you'd rather spend time with me than with her. I told her that wasn't true…that you were always talking about her."

At this Elliot burst out laughing. Olivia looked at him in bewilderment, but he laughed harder, and before she knew it she was laughing, too. They continued until they were both holding their sides and wiping tears from their eyes.

"You just didn't tell her what I was saying _about_ her, huh?"

"Elliot!"

"I know, I know. I shouldn't laugh about this."

The silence was back and they sat beside one another each staring at the bank of lockers across from them. Each lost in their own thoughts.

"Liv?"

"Yeah."

"I tried. I did. I just…couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't live the lie anymore."

He could see her barely nod in understanding.

"That's why I left. It's why I signed the papers. Liv?"

"Yeah."

"You don't…you don't think any less of me cause I couldn't make work, do you?"

She sat up straighter and looked him in the eye. "What? Of course not, Elliot. I know you did everything you could to make it work. And even if you didn't, it would change what I thought about you."

"You mean that?"

"Yes."

"Good. Cause I didn't do _everything_ I could have…" he said as he leaned closer to her.

He was so close she could feel his warm breath and suddenly she was afraid he was about to do something they would both live to regret. She knew she should back away but she was powerless to move, to speak.

"I didn't leave the unit…Manhattan. I didn't leave you," he whispered, looking into her eyes for permission.

Even with those midnight blue eyes pleading, even with his full lips millimeters from hers, even with his breath hot on her cheek, her senses at last kicked in and she looked at her watch. "El, I need to get home."

Thankfully, this broke the mood. Elliot smiled at her, knowing she was frightened, and slowly got to his feet. "Sure."

He reached down, extending his left hand, and pulled her up. When he did, he pulled her up against him and suddenly they were in almost the same position as they had been while sitting, their lips so close.

"Elliot…" she shook her head and pulled away.

His smile surprised her. "Good night, Liv."

"You're staying here?"

"Yeah…I'll see you in the morning."

She nodded at him and turned away. "G'night, El."

~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeo ~ ~ ~


	2. Underhanded

**Hope you like this chapter...the intensity is going to really pick up...remember this is fictional fiction...so some things may not seem like real life or the show...but you never know cause sometimes 'truth is stranger that fiction'. " ) Bensler**

**P.S. but if you stick with me to the end, I think you will glad you did. " ) **

**Chapter 2 ~ Underhanded**

**SVU Crib – Friday, September 25 – 12:49 a.m.**

Long after Olivia left, Elliot lay awake staring into the darkness of the room. The silence only magnified the emptiness he felt. He thought about all he had told her, all he had not told her, and all he planned to tell her one day soon. She had to have an idea of how he felt about her. Then again maybe she didn't. The desire to kiss her had come over him with no warning. No warning because he had told himself months ago he would not make a move on her until he was completely free. That would be sometime next week. Close, but not enough. He knew Olivia would never be with him until his divorce was final…that is, if she would be with him at all. He sent a prayer Heavenward that she would.

He thought about Kathy and their marriage and the kids and how much he missed seeing them on a regular basis. Of course, the older ones had lives of their own, Maureen and Kathleen lived at school and even if he were still at home he wouldn't see much of them. The twins were busy with school, extra-curricular activities, their friends and part-time jobs. Eli would never remember the arguments his Mom and Dad had over late nights, missed dinners, no shows for games and recitals. He would never remember them for two reasons. Elliot had determined to be better at not missing so much of Eli's childhood the way he had the others, and he and Kathy wouldn't be together so there would be as much time for loud fights when he did. Eli would hopefully be spared the things fighting parents do and say to each other that burn holes in children's psyches.

Then his mind drifted back to Olivia. It always came back to her. What he had said about her being in the middle was true, but only partly. His marriage had been on the rocks when he and Olivia were first partnered. She was just another thing Kathy used to try to guilt him into changing jobs, to being home more, to become something he was not. Olivia had nothing to do with the status of his and Kathy's relationship, nothing, at least not in the beginning. However, during his and Kathy's separation, she did become part of why he was no longer satisfied with the status quo of his marriage. And in the end, she was the real reason why he would never leave SVU.

Over the years of their partnership he had seen what it was like to have someone who could relate to him, who understood not only his job, but him. He knew what it was like to have a woman he could share his thoughts and feelings with, someone who knew him at his worst and yet still called him her best friend. Olivia seemed to innately know what he needed even before he did whereas Kathy always insisted that he needed the same things she did from life. Kathy did not know him and really had no desire to try to know him. She wanted to change him, make him be what she wanted him to be. Olivia was content to let him be Elliot. Olivia was the one with whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life. He only hoped she felt the same.

**Benson Residence – Friday, September 25 – 12:49 a.m.**

After so much tossing and turning, Olivia was certain she must have enough time doing so to be considered an expert at sleepless nights. Throwing the covers off, she sat up and ran her hands through her hair. The words Elliot spoke kept running around in her brain spinning her thoughts in circles, keeping sleep at bay.

'_No one's at my place.' _His place. Where was his place, she wondered? Didn't he say something once about having sublet his apartment he had during the separation? She could not believe he was not living at home.

'_I don't want another chance. I'm the one who walked this time.'_ And this time he was the one who left. He had made the choice to end the marriage. What happened to push him across the line? She hoped it had nothing to do with her. She did not want to be even part of the reason he and Kathy couldn't make it.

'_Eleven weeks ago yesterday.'_ If she thought about this hard enough, she could become really angry. He was her partner and he had kept this to himself for nearly three months. They were supposed to be best friends. You didn't keep things like this from your best friend. Shaking her head, she laughed at that thought. Keeping a boyfriend of four months wasn't something you kept from your best friend either. Elliot was not at all happy when he found out about Kurt. Well, they really had not been on the friendship track in a long time. Since he went back to Kathy two years ago really. Even just before then they had only started to get things ironed out between them when Kathy told him she was pregnant.

'_You always were in the middle.' _No. She _refused_ to believe this. She was _not_ in the middle. Not really. Maybe Kathy thought she was, but hadn't she proved time and time again that she was not. Hadn't she proved she was on their side? The first time she realized Elliot was having trouble at home, didn't she tell him if he wasn't careful he was going to lose the best thing that ever happened to him? When Kathy came to her for help in getting him to sign the divorce papers, didn't she try to tell her how much he cared about her and was always talking about her? She chuckled at the memory of Elliot's reaction to that tonight. And then during the Bushido/Tybor case when Elliot was undercover and Kathy was so angry…Olivia convinced her not to leave him. Well, maybe she _was_ in the middle. But it was always to make Kathy or Elliot see what they needed to do to salvage their marriage; it was never to destroy it.

'_After Gitano…it all changed.' _, if there _was_ one point, one pivotal point that truly defined the change in hers and Elliot's relationship, it _was_ Gitano. Even though it had changed _before_ Gitano. It was just that until then, until Gitano brought them face to face with the death of each other, with the possibility of losing the other, they had been able to dance around the forbidden feelings, to deny that the bond, the connection, the love they had for one another transcended partnership or friendship.

'_Cause I didn't do everything I could have…'_ She always speculated as to whether or not he really did do everything he could have to save his marriage. He spent far too much time at work, sleeping in the crib, pulling all nighters, volunteering for undercover assignments. He missed too many ballgames, recitals, plays, dinners and homework, and just plain old family time.

'_I didn't leave the unit…Manhattan. I didn't leave you…'_ She remembered him telling her Kathy wanted him to transfer to Queens. That was one time she could not suggest he listen to his wife. By that time, Olivia knew she could not do this job without Elliot. By that time, though she never let herself admit it, she knew she had fallen in love with him and the only way she could have him in her life was as her partner, her friend. And the words he spoke tonight, made her realize he felt the same about her. _'I didn't leave you.' _No, he _didn't_ leave her. And tonight…tonight he had wanted to kiss her.

Burrowing back beneath the covers, Olivia closed her eyes. Then smiled. Sleep would come eventually.

**SVU Squadroom – Friday, September 25 – 8:42 a.m.**

Sneezing for what had to be the fifth time in a row Elliot let out a loud groan and wiped his nose again. Olivia looked over the desk at him. "Bless you."

"I hate having a cold. I'd rather be sick enough to crawl into bed than just be miserable like this," he sniffled, coughed and leaned around to throw the tissue in the trash. He had woken up with a scratchy throat and runny nose and it had gotten progressively worse in just a few short hours.

"Keep your germs on your side," Olivia said as she held up two fingers to form a cross.

"You need to take some zinc," Munch told him.

"Musta gone outside with a wet head," Fin added.

"What?" Olivia and Elliot said at the same time as they looked at Fin.

"He's referring to an old wives tale," Munch explained.

"Ain't no _wives_ tale…my grandma always told us not to do that," Fin said defensively.

"It's not true, my friend." Munch patted Fin on the shoulder. "And cold weather and chills don't cause colds either…"

"Viruses do," Cragen asserted, walking up to the bay of desks. "Where are we on the case?"

"Prints came back on a couple of boyfriends and a co-worker…one had a couple of run-ins in his teens. Other than that nothing," Olivia told him.

"Dumped her LUDs. A couple of numbers we can't trace…disposable cells. All the others are on the up and up," Munch added.

"Former and current employer says she was good worker, no problems with any boyfriends." Fin looked over his notes.

Cragen nodded. "Okay…so, canvass the neighborhood and apartment complex again, check out all the places she frequents, grocer, gym, laundry. I want a report on my desk by morning."

"Captain, I'm talking to another ex this afternoon. Heard they had a really volatile relationship…maybe he's not so 'ex'," Nate informed him.

"All right…just make sure one of my detectives goes with you," Cragen said as he eyed Nate. He had no basis for his feeling, but he did not trust Nate Kendal. "I need all of your DD5s from yesterday on my desk no later than," he said, looking at his watch, "ten o'clock. After that, you guys can hit the streets."

As the others prepared to do what they needed, Cragen went back to his office. Watching the crew from his blinded windows, he could not shake his dislike for Nate Kendal. Something about him set him on edge. That none of his detectives took a liking to him didn't help matters. He hated having to reprimand Benson and Stabler about him when he concurred completely with their assessment of the man. Picking up the phone, he dialed and waited. "Jim, how are you? Got a favor to ask…"

"Benson, you heard Cragen…ride with me." Nate nodded at Olivia.

She stared at him but then stood just as Elliot shot her a silent 'no way' look and stood up, too. "I'll go," he told Kendal.

"No offense, but she's _much_ easier on the eyes." Nate winked at Elliot and headed for the door leaving him no room to argue.

Elliot wanted to deck the guy right there. Grabbing his jacket and cell, he stepped from behind his desk to go after him, but Olivia stopped him with a tug on his arm.

"El, it's okay. I'll go," she said quietly, hoping he would accept her decision.

"I'm gonna kill him before this all over," he hissed. "I don't trust him, Olivia."

"I don't either," she threw over her shoulder as she ran to catch up with Kendal.

**Streets of Manhattan – Friday, September 25 – 5:45 p.m.**

Olivia and Nate ended up having to drive to Jersey to find the former volatile ex-boyfriend. They visited the local police precinct to get copies of police reports, and now it is was early evening as they headed back to Manhattan.

"I don't like him for this," Kendal said as he slid into the driver's seat.

"He seemed really nervous…I don't want to write him off just yet. I don't think he's good for it but something doesn't quite feel right about him." Olivia buckled up and looked out her window.

Kendal's eyes slid over Olivia and smirk played at the corner of his mouth. "You hungry?"

His hand gently sliding along and squeezing her thigh as he asked the question startled her and she grabbed his hand, throwing it off as she glared at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed.

"Sorry…calm down." Kendal smiled, holding his hands up in surrender. "Can't help myself, Detective. You are a very beautiful woman. You _must_ know I'm attracted to you. Got a boyfriend?"

"None of your business. And you _better_ help yourself and keep your hands off me and just do your job," she snapped, her eyes popping fire.

"Ooohhh…I like a feisty woman. The challenge." The smirk on his face was just like the one he had the day he walked into the squad room.

At the ring of her cell phone, she glanced at the screen before answering but resumed her angry stare at Nate as she spoke.

"Yeah, John."

Pause.

"Sounds goods. See you in ten." She flipped the phone closed. "You want to meet the guys at Connolly's, or just drop me by?" she asked, hoping he did not want to go because she was ready to put some distance between her and this creep. No such luck.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world." He turned the car around and headed for the pub.

**Connolly's Pub – Friday, September 25 – 7:55 p.m.**

When Olivia and Nate arrived, none of the SVU crew was to be found. Since there were no open tables, she and Nate took a seat at the bar and placed their orders.

"Any idea where the rest of them are?" Nate asked as he took a bite of a chicken tender.

"No telling. I'm sure they have a good reason." Olivia smothered another piece of chicken in the ranch dressing before eating it. "You don't like ranch? I've eaten almost all of it."

She noticed he ate his chicken plain.

"Oh…yeah, I like it. Just you know, these are fried and well…" he patted his stomach, "I'm trying to drop a few pounds. Quit smoking six months ago."

Chuckling, she covered another piece in the dressing.

Away from the stress of the job, she was finding it easier to talk to Kendal. Maybe he was not such a bad guy after all. If he'd keep his hands to himself and quit with the innuendos she might even be able to like him a little. Just a little. She'd had a beer and two glasses of wine and was feeling very lightheaded, which was quite unusual. They'd shared the basket of chicken tenders so it wasn't like she consumed the beverages on an empty stomach. Even so, that amount of alcohol rarely gave her much of a buzz, let alone made her feel drunk, which she was definitely feeling right now.

Her cop mind briefly wondered if Nate had slipped her something, but she knew that was impossible because she had not left her drink alone. As soon as they had ordered, she used the restroom, but when she returned to the bar, the only thing there was the chicken fingers. She had no sooner sat down when the waitress brought their drinks. She had not left the bar since, so she knew he could not have put anything in her drinks.

It had now been two hours since John had called. Calls to him, Fin and Elliot still went unanswered. But she wasn't too worried. In their line of work any number of things could have come up. At any rate, somewhere along the line, Nate had gotten pretty cozy with her…and after several protests she let him. A few drinks had a way of making even the most obnoxious guy seem not quite so bad. He _was_ kind of cute, had pretty blue eyes.

Blue eyes made her think of Elliot. And Kathy. And she shook her head and refocused on Nate. A little on the chunky side, but his hands rubbing the knots of tension from her shoulders felt just as good as any great looking guy's, so she found herself giving into the pleasure. Still she knew she needed to put a stop to it before it got out of hand. She didn't need another Cassidy in her past.

"Uh…I..think…I need to…uh…head home," Olivia told Nate as she tried to focus her eyes. The bottles on the shelves over the bar had become double, even triple images and she wondered if her words were slurred because she could barely form a coherent thought let alone a sentence. And she could barely keep her eyes open.

"I got this," Nate told her as he threw several bills on the counter. Turning to her he took her arm and she let him because she was rather unsteady on her feet.

What was going on, she wondered, her eyes rolling?

In the back seat of the cab she found herself willingly leaning into Nate when he pulled her to him. Testing her response, he lightly kissed her cheek. When she did not object, he placed kiss after kiss at her temple, on her face, along her jaw, each one closer to her lips. Finally, kissing her softly on the lips, he was pleased to find her quite responsive, so he deepened the kiss. Her arms went around his neck and pulled him closer and then the cab came to a stop. When he started to go with her to the door, she at last had the presence of mind to tell him it wasn't necessary. Dismissing the cab, he insisted on seeing her in safely.

**Benson Residence – Friday, September 25 – 9:30 p.m.**

In the elevator he pushed her up against the wall and started kissing her again. At her door he did the same thing and when it opened they nearly toppled to the floor. He was so intent on his mission that he didn't notice that the door did not shut all the way when he pushed at it to close it.

The kissing continued as he eyed her couch and slowly walked her backwards to it. From the first time he had seen Olivia Benson months ago he wanted her. That she was not exactly complying on her own made no difference to him. He wanted her and he was going to have her. It was part of his personal mission, even if he had to complete it in an underhanded way.

Olivia wanted to stop. At least the rational Olivia wanted to stop. Being with Nate Kendal was not a good idea. But the alcohol running through her now fuzzy mind coupled with his roaming hands effectively silenced all protests. She had sworn off one night stands, and had been wary of the few dates she had ever since Sealview. She had not been with anyone since Kurt and that had been just over a year ago. Still, she was not ready for this, and especially not with someone she didn't really know or even care about, but she sure was heading that way right now. From somewhere within her, she again found her voice of reason.

"Nate, stop," she demanded, pushing at him.

Ignoring her, he tried to kiss her but she turned her head away. "I said to stop!"

At this he grabbed her face, roughly turning her toward him. "You know you like it, Benson," he rumbled, kissing her hard, his hands taking liberties she did not authorize.

"Get off me, Kendal!" she nearly screamed the words, but he muffled them with another kiss, this one almost brutal.

Pushing him away and trying to roll from under him did no good. He was too strong, too big, too heavy. Visions of Lowell Harris flooded her and a new burst of adrenaline shot through her as she violently shoved him with all her strength causing him to roll to the floor. Just as she stood up, he grabbed her and forced her back down on the couch.

Not knowing what else to do, she bit him. Right on his lip. He yelped in pain, wiped at his mouth then jerked her like a rag doll further up on the couch.

"So, you want it rough, huh?" he growled as his hands slid up her torso holding her in place, trying to kiss her again. "I always wondered how sex crimes detectives liked it."

Overpowered and helpless, an unfathomable fear spellbound her. With him on top of her she felt the blackness closing in, reaching for her. Breathing was hard, so hard she knew she was not far from passing out and then he would do whatever he wanted. He was going to rape her.

God help her…Nate Kendal was going to rape her and call it rough sex.

**~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeo ~ ~ ~**


	3. Unadulterated

**There are several _new_ readers reviewing!! Thank you! Maybe you are new or maybe you just came out of 'Lurker-land' or maybe you are a faithful reader that has always been there with me, but I just have to say THANK YOU to ALL of you! Knowing how you feel about a chapter/story truly does encourage and motivate me. And any author. Thanks so much! I so appreciate and love all of you guys!!! I'll quit gushing and go write more on chapter 4 now. " ) Bensler**

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**C****hapter 3 ~ Unadulterated Infamous**

**Benson Residence – Friday, September 25 – 9:45 p.m.**

No matter how hard she tried, she could not get him off of her again, and the weight of his body on top of her was stealing every last morsel of air she managed to inhale. Lightheadedness from that, combined with the alcohol, was swiftly carrying her to the boundary of consciousness. If she passed out, she knew for certain what fate awaited her. If she could continue to fight him a little longer, possibly one of her neighbors would hear and come to her rescue or call the police.

"Stop it!" she yelled, but it was mostly stifled by his mouth closing in on her again. "Nate! Stop!"

"You know that's not what you really want, now is it, Benson?" Laughing at her attempts to push him away, one hand held both of hers over her head while the other was everywhere, rough and bruising.

"Please, Nate. Don't! Stop!" her screams continued to no avail as she continued her thrashing.

"Don't stop? That's more like it, Olivia." His laugh was nothing short of evil.

If she did not figure out a way to get him off of her, she was going to pass out. The dizziness, the lightheadedness was upon her; reaching out for her, pulling her under. Air. She just needed some air. Trying to head butt him failed because she simply could not get enough leverage. Please, she begged silently. Someone help her.

Knock, knock, knock. Oh, thank you, God, thank you. Knock, knock, knock. Lungs burning, Olivia sucked at the air as Kendal pulled away from her, allowing her to sit up. Looking toward the door she saw it was not closed all the way and watched as it slowly opened more.

"Liv?" Elliot called out quietly as he stuck his head in to look around the apartment partially lit by one lone lamp in the entryway.

He wanted to fill her in on the case they had gotten called to minutes after John had arranged for her to meet them at Connolly's. It had been that morning since he had seen her, and he also hoped to continue their conversation from last night. He wanted to clarify some things between them. Seeing her door partially open, and hearing what he thought sounded like a cry of protest, sent concern washing over him, but he managed to stay calm as he opened the door and called her name.

Never in all the time she had known him was she more relieved to see Elliot than right now. Shaking all over, she tried to say something without enough air yet filling her lungs; the words were stuck in her throat.

Then he saw her. Them. Hastily sitting up and pulling away from each other. His eyes met hers then shifted to Nate and back to her. The shock on his face was unmistakable. The hurt was there, too. But the overwhelming thing was the rage. The unadulterated rage. It gripped him like a lion gripping its prey, and he shook with it; its teeth slashing and puncturing everything that made him alive. Taking in the sight, Kendal with his shirt off, Olivia with hers unbuttoned, Elliot spun around and left the apartment.

Oh, he heard her. Her shaking voice calling his name, pierced his heart, but he had to get out of there. He wanted to puke. He didn't want to hear whatever it was she had to say. It didn't matter because he knew what he had just seen and could not believe it. He could not believe she was with him like this. He wanted to beat Nate Kendal to death. He wanted to jerk her away from him. If he had not come along…she, they…well, he knew where it _looked_ like it was going. He wanted to scream and holler and shake some sense into Olivia. He couldn't believe he interrupted her in the middle of making out with Nate Kendal.

He thought the talk they had last night would have made her realized he cared about her as so much more than his partner and best friend. Yet here she is barely twenty-four hours later in a very compromising position with a guy she met three days ago. He was stupid to think she was interested in him that way. Stupid to think she'd want him with his five kids, no money, and all kinds of emotional baggage. Whereas he wanted more, apparently she was content with being partners and best friends.

"Elliot!" Olivia shouted his name, pushed unsteadily past Kendal nearly falling as she ran after him. "Elliot! Elliot, wait!"

Her hands dragging along the hall wall to steady herself, she caught up with him just as he rounded the landing, and stumbling, was able to grab his arm and hold on. "Please…El, please don't leave me alone with him," she begged tears glistening in her eyes.

_Alone_ with him? She didn't want to be left _alone_ with him? Though he was absolutely incensed with her for being with someone else, he was also conflicted over what he had just seen, and her words and actions now. The two did not mesh. The hurt won and the laugh that fell from his throat was cold and icy as he tried to shake her hands from his arm, but she clung to him like a cockle-burr.

"You don't want to be alone with him? Yeah, right?" he snorted sarcastically. "What? You want an audience? Not into to that, Olivia!" He jerked his arm, but she held tight.

And then…then he actually looked into her eyes. Brown eyes that were widened by terror, her shame and guilt, filling with tears, pleading with him, and his rage multiplied as the situation began to register in his brain. Only this time that rage was not _at_ her but because what had happened _to_ her.

Horror stricken at how he had just treated her and what he said to her, he now wanted nothing more than to pull her to him and beg forgiveness. "You okay?" he managed to ask, his hand brushing her hair from her face then cupping her jaw.

Swaying somewhat, her hands still gripping his arm, she shook her head. "No."

"Did he…was he…" He struggled to say the word. "Was this…consensual?"

"No...yes…I mean, no… I thought… I don't know…I…I told him to stop…but he wouldn't…and I'm drunk…I think…" she tried to explain, her eyes closing in confusion and against the pull of the alcohol. Or whatever was in her system.

Hearing how slurred her words were, watching as she gripped him and still could barely stand straight, the rage ripped through Elliot and he broke free to sprint back to her apartment. Kendal was coming out of her bedroom, apparently having used the bathroom since he was buckling his belt, seemingly unconcerned about Olivia and Elliot or the situation at hand.

"Stabler…missed you at Connolly's." Nate grinned, all cocky and arrogant.

Elliot stood before him, his chest heaving, hands fisting by his side, eyes wide, face red, the fury emanating from him thickening the atmosphere.

Olivia was behind him, holding onto the doorframe for support. "Elliot…" she whispered.

"Olivia tell you to stop?" Elliot was in his face.

Nate grinned wider, laughing softly. "That's what they _all_ say…" He glanced at Olivia. "Doesn't mean that's what they want."

"You son of a…" Elliot snarled.

He was on Kendal in a split second, his fist crashing into his jaw twice knocking the younger man to the floor. Elliot landed on top of him, fists still pounding. Blood spurted from Kendal's nose and lip but not before he landed his fist into Elliot's temple and jaw. Olivia managed to grab his arm and pull Elliot off of him, but he wanted more. Somehow she managed to hold him back as Nate got to his feet. Elliot lunged one more time but she held tight to his arm.

"Elliot…don't! Please! Kendal, just leave! I just want you to leave."

"No problem, Benson. We'll finish our little rendezvous later." Even after being beat by Elliot, the man still had nerve and he leaned to kiss her cheek.

She jerked away and tried to slap him, but he moved easily out of her reach, smiling, as he used his shirt sleeve to wipe blood from his nose and lip.

Elliot jumped toward him again, but Olivia wrapped both arms around him pushing him backward to keep him far enough away that he could not punch Kendal anymore. He stepped out of reach, still grinning at the two of them.

"This isn't over, Kendal!" Elliot shouted as the man headed for the door. "This isn't over!"

"You're right, Detective. It isn't over. See you in the morning," Kendal retorted as he left.

Now that they were alone, awkwardness set in. Elliot and Olivia stared at each other, wordlessly, until she swayed nearly losing her balance. Elliot caught her in his arms and their eyes locked for several long moments. He led her to the living room, glanced at the couch then opted to seat her in the recliner. He sat on the coffee table in front of her and watched her settle back, sighing and closing her eyes.

The silence was loud and long and Elliot didn't know how much more he could take. "How much did you have to drink?" he asked quietly and he hoped without a tone of accusation. This was not like her. She never got drunk and he wanted to understand what had happened that she did so tonight.

Opening her glazed over eyes, she stared at him. "One beer… two glasses of wine."

Frowning, he shook his head. "Had to be more than that, Olivia."

A lot more, he thought. She was like one of the guys when it came to drinking. She could hold her liquor. But she rarely drank much because she so feared becoming like her mother. Her eyes rolled and he wasn't sure if it was an 'exasperated Olivia roll of the eyes' or an involuntary roll because she had little control over them at the moment.

Shaking her head, she frowned, and ran her hands through her disheveled hair. "It wasn't, I swear. El, I drank the beer first…then after the first glass of wine I started feelin' really woozy…and that's just not normal." Her speech was slow and methodical. She leaned her head back, her eyes falling shut again.

"You eat anything?"

"Yeah…chicken tenders." She now massaged her forehead with both hands.

"How many you eat?"

Eyes still closed, her forehead wrinkled as she thought hard about it. "Um…I…uh…I think I ate most of them. Only 'member Kendal eatin' three or four. A dozen in the order."

"Leave your drink unattended?" Elliot chewed on his cheek trying to figure out what had happened. Her speech seemed more slurred and each word seemed more difficult to form. Unless she had more to drink than she was telling him, something else was going on. And she had no reason to lie. Her speech was definitely more slurred than when she first started talking to him. Something was not right.

"No…already racked my brain thinkin**'** 'bout it." She opened her eyes to look at him. "El, I dunno how, but…really…think…I was…drugged."

His eyes searched hers for a long time then he nodded and opened his cell phone.

"Who ya callin'?"

He held a finger to his lips to quiet her. "Hey. Glad you're still there. Liv and I need to come down. I'll explain when we get there. Yeah, give us fifteen."

"Come on," he said as he stood, reaching for Olivia's hand.

"What? Where we goin'?"

"To see Melinda." He believed her.

**Office of Dr. Melinda Warner, Medical Examiner – Friday, September 25 – 10:28 p.m.**

Melinda was hesitant about doing a urine test without it being related to a case, without a warrant and off the record, but when Elliot explained what Olivia thought happened, she finally agreed to it.

"I'll let you know something first thing in the morning." She patted Olivia on the shoulder and set the container on the counter.

"Thanks, Doc," Elliot told her with a smile as he put his arm around Olivia and led her to the door.

"'Night, Mmmel," Olivia said, her words still slurred, her feet still unsteady.

"Good night, Olivia," Melinda replied, smiling softly at her friend. She pulled Elliot aside. "She shouldn't be alone tonight. If she _was_ drugged, the effects may not have totally kicked in."

"That's what I was thinking…she's slurring her words even worse than thirty minutes ago," Elliot admitted, a worried look on his face. "And she can barely stand now."

"Call me if she seems really worse," Melinda said, looking over at Olivia now slumped against the doorframe.

"Okay. Thanks, Melinda." Elliot went to Olivia and wrapped his arms around her to steady her as they walked down the hall.

Melinda shook her head and sighed. Elliot told her that Olivia had been on a date that got out of hand and she believed she was drugged even though she swore she never left her drink unattended. What was Olivia thinking, she wondered? She needed to quit bringing home men she did not really know. Of all people, she should know about all the perverts out there. Melinda worried about her sometimes, wishing she would find a good man and settle down.

**Benson Residence – Friday, September 25 – 11:50 p.m.**

When they got back to Olivia's apartment, she was pretty much passed out. Leaning against Elliot in the cab, her head resting on his shoulder, her arm slung around his waist, he would have given anything if she had been sitting next to him like this of her own accord. He couldn't help but take pleasure in the feeling of her snuggled against him. It felt so good, so right.

Essentially carrying her up the stoop, he was more than thankful that the elevator was working. Not that she was too heavy or he wasn't strong enough, but his back was killing him. Ever since that explosion he and Star were in a couple of years ago, followed by being thrown through a precinct window by a PCP-crazed perp barely five months later, his back had given him some trouble.

Once in the apartment he got Olivia settled in her bed. Gently removing her boots and belt, it hit him that her cell phone, gun and cuffs were missing. He found them on the floor near the couch and was instantly angered again at the memory of seeing her with Nate Kendal. Of knowing that Kendal had kissed her, touched her, against her will.

He had planned to sleep on the couch, but the images of Olivia and Nate changed his mind. Besides he would prefer to be closer to Olivia in case she woke and needed something in the middle of the night. So, he made his way back to her bedroom and pulled a chair close to the bed. He was surprised at how peaceful she now looked in sleep. Smoothing a fallen strand of hair from her face, he lightly kissed her temple, breathing in the scent of her conditioner. He leaned back in the chair and smiled. He loved her. He didn't know when it happened and he had tried to deny it for a long time, years even, but he loved her. Pure and simple he loved her. He was certain Kendal had drugged her. He didn't know how, but as sure as he sat there he knew that when Melinda called in the morning, her findings would substantiate his suspicions. No, not suspicions. He _knew_ Olivia had been drugged. He knew what she was like drunk and this was different. As he watched her sleep, his eyelids grew heavy and finally he was able to close them, relax and actually get some rest.

**Benson Residence – Saturday, September 26 – 8:17 a.m.**

Streaming through the partially open curtains, the morning light shone on her face, waking her. She was curled on her left side facing the windows. Laying there for a moment, she tried to recall getting to bed last night. She was still dressed in her clothes from yesterday. What day is it, she wondered? Saturday. She rolled onto her back and saw Elliot fast asleep in a chair beside her bed. Why was he here? Then images began bombarding her. Nate. Connolly's. Drinking. Cab. Couch. Hands. Lips. Then she knew why Elliot was there and relief filled her being.

Slumped down in the seat, his head was cocked to the left, slightly drooped toward his chest and his arms hung limply over the side of the chair. His mouth was partly open and he snored lightly. His legs were stretched out onto the foot of her bed and she smiled at his presence. Thankful that she had a partner, a friend like him.

Nudging his foot with hers, she caused him to stir. He stretched, yawned and opened bleary, blue eyes which lifted to hers.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" she asked, smiling.

Groaning, he pulled his legs from the bed and sat up straight. "Uh…didn't want to leave you alone."

"Thanks, but you didn't have to stay."

Raising his arms overhead, he stretched again then brought his hands to his face and rubbing his eyes, before looking at her again. His eyes ran over her face and then he smiled and leaned toward her. "Well…I just thought it was a good idea."

Nodding, she lay back and closed her eyes. She really didn't want to move from the bed. She was still groggy and tired.

"You okay?" He popped the side of her thigh.

Opening her eyes, she absently ran her hand over the spot where his had just been. "A little tired…but, yeah."

"You feel like eating something?"

"Actually, I am a little hungry. Wanna go to the diner down the street?"

"Nah…thought I'd just make a couple of omelets and some toast."

"Not sure what's in the fridge, but, hey, knock yourself out," she replied, grinning at him.

Though she would never admit it, she was relieved that he had stayed. She was glad that he had not left her alone after what had happened with Nate. And glad he was nearby in case there had been any adverse reaction to whatever drug he had used. She was positive he slipped her something. Absolutely positive.

Thirty minutes later they were just finished eating omelets with cheese, broccoli and red bell peppers, when Elliot's cell phone rang. He looked at the ID and then up at Olivia.

"It's Melinda," he told her, his eyes saying much more.

Eyes narrowing, she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, and nodded.

"Hey, Melinda. Uh…I'm putting you on speaker phone so Liv can hear, too."

"Hey, Elliot, Olivia. You were right. The urine test was positive for Rohypnol."

Being sex crimes detectives, they were well acquainted with the drug. Known on the street as Rophy, Ruffles, Roofies, Ruff Up, Roach 2, R2-Do-U, Rope, Ropies, Circes, Forget-Me-pill, Mexican Valium, among other names. It belongs to the Benzodiazepine family of drugs, and it is used as a prescription sedative/depressant, and though it is not manufactured or approved for use in North America, it can easily be found on the streets.

Elliot watched as Olivia blanched at Melinda's words. He reached out to touch her shoulder and when she looked up at him, he saw the guilt, the disgust. Some way she was going to twist this around to take the blame. He shook his head but she looked away. She was blaming herself.

"Olivia? Since you are adamant he did not have access to your drink, my thoughts are he had crushed the pills into a fine powder and mixed it with the ranch dressing. That would have provided enough moisture to quickly dissolve it and since Rohypnol is tasteless, colorless and odorless, you would never have suspected anything," Melinda explained.

"So he put it in the food," Elliot was surprised. "Never heard of that for a date rape drug."

"Not as common, but it _is_ done. It comes as a pill and can be crushed and added to any drink, including water, without detection, but people need to be aware of food tampering as well when it comes to these drugs," Melinda added.

Olivia's hand flew to her mouth because suddenly her breakfast was in her throat. She ran for the bathroom. By the time Elliot told Melinda he would call her back and followed Olivia, she was on her knees emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

"Liv…"

Shaking her head, she waved him away.

Ignoring her, he wet a washcloth and ran a cup of water. She accepted them but would not look at him.

"It wasn't your fault."

"Elliot…I just…just leave me alone…please."

"Okay, but it wasn't your fault."

He left her and went to the kitchen to clean up from breakfast. Several minutes later she appeared in the doorway. "El…thanks for everything…but if you don't mind, I'm…I need some time to myself."

"You sure? I don't want to outstay my welcome but I'm here for as long as you need me, Liv."

Smiling, she replied, "I'm sure. And I know."

Hanging up the kitchen towel, he started toward the door, then stopped. "When you tell Cragen, I'd like to be there with you, if that's okay?"

Her eyes flew to his and then dropped to the floor just as quickly. "I'm not telling Cragen."

The rage that flowed over him was instantaneous. "What?" he growled.

"I don't want anyone to know about this," she said firmly, now locking her eyes with his.

"Olivia, Cragen needs to know. You can let that son of…"

"Elliot! I'm not telling him! What does it say about me as sex crimes detective if I'm taken down by a date rape drug? I'm _not_ telling Cragen and neither are you!" she snapped as she turned around and headed for the door.

Taking her by her shoulders, he jerked her around to face him again. "Olivia, Kendal tried to rape you! He _would_ have raped you if I hadn't come by when I did! You _can't_ just let him get away with this!"

"Look, Elliot…I need to think about exactly what happened, okay? I just…maybe I gave him the wrong signals…I don't know…I just know I'm not telling Cragen."

Anger was piling up on rage and Elliot realized he was starting to shake. "What do you mean you might have given him the wrong signals? He slipped you a drug!"

Staring at her partner, she knew from the look in his eyes, he was not backing off of this discussion. She did not want to do this. She did not want to explain her personal actions to Elliot but he would leave her no choice. Rolling her eyes, she sighed. "I may have encouraged him to start with…"

"Encouraged him?" Elliot was about to explode. His jaw jumped and his eyes were narrowed slits.

He was going to go off on her for having anything to do with Nate Kendal that did not center on the investigation. He was already ticked off enough over how Kendal had come onto her that first day; and then her agreeing to go with him yesterday. And of course, seeing them on her couch…and now she's telling him she may have encouraged the creep? He knew he was going to say something he would regret and he kept telling himself to just leave but he never was any good at listening to the voice of reason or holding his temper.

"Come on, El, don't make me say it," she pleaded.

"No. Make me understand, Olivia, 'cause I can't figure out how a guy giving you a drug with intentions of raping you can be your fault." Somehow he managed to tone down and speak somewhat normally.

Nervously, biting at her lower lip, she opened her mouth but nothing came out. Trying again, she told him, "At the bar…he…said I was…tense…and he…he…uh, started massaging my shoulders and neck…and I…I didn't stop him…"

Elliot's anger was becoming uncontrollable. The thought of Kendal's hands on her –anyone's hands on her - …the thought of her letting, _letting_ him touch her like that…with such familiarity sent a fiery hot rage coursing through him. Rage? Yeah, rage. He was not ready to attribute it to anything else. He blew out a short, sharp breath through his nose.

"Letting him work out tension knots in your shoulder and neck is a far cry from rape," he spoke between gritted teeth, his hard stare an indication for her to continue.

"I told him I need to go home…and in the cab…he…he kissed me…and I…I kissed him back…" she whispered, her eyes closing.

That was it. That was what pushed him over the edge. "So, what? You telling me you wanted it?"

"I…I…didn't…"

"You wanted it until it got too rough, that it? Huh?" Elliot laughed.

"No…no…"

He knew he was out of line; knew he was past the point of reason, but he couldn't stop.

"If only Kendal had known he could have taken you with any help from a drug!" His sneer was ruthless, unfeeling, his eyes suddenly cold and empty.

A chilling numbness had fallen over him, and he barely felt the sting of her hand upon his face. And the tears welling in her eyes had no effect on him. Nothing would penetrate the anguish he felt at this moment. It was his to wallow in, his to own.

"Get out! I don't need you and your accusations! Just get out! I don't need you at all!" Olivia hissed as she threw open the door and stood there with tears rolling down her cheeks.

The icy glare of his blue eyes was the last thing she saw as she slammed the door.

~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeo ~ ~ ~


	4. Unmistakable

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**Thanks to all of you out there who are reading and taking time to comment! Hope this chapter is beyond your highest expectations! " ) Bensler**

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**Chapter 4 ~ Unmistakable**

**SVU Squad Room – Saturday, September 26 – 11:20 a.m.**

It was Saturday, but that made no difference for the Special Victims Unit. There were no off days. There had been another rape early this morning. Not just any rape. The same woman had been raped again. The same one that Kendal had saved. The same one whose case they were presently working. Having been called in by Cragen, the crew was gathered waiting for his briefing.

Munch was sitting at his desk cleaning his glasses. Fin was pouring his second cup of coffee. Olivia was perched on top of her desk, her feet resting in her chair, her back to Elliot's empty desk. He had not yet arrived and she dreaded when he did. It had only been a couple of hours since their blow up at her apartment.

Nate was somewhat apart from the group, leaning on one of the file cabinets in the row that stood just outside the main file room. His nose was swollen and discolored and the split at the corner of his lip looked quite painful. Olivia thought he looked much worse than Elliot, whose bruised jaw was only slightly purplish this morning. Of course, Elliot had a few other telltale signs of a scuffle - couple of abrasions, one on his right cheek and one near his left eye along with a fairly significant scratch down the left side of his neck.

Olivia tried not to look at Nate. She did speak when she first came in, but only because she didn't want to bring attention to the strain between them and she also didn't want to alienate him. She was not yet finished with Nate Kendal. She was aware of the looks Munch and Fin exchanged and knew it was a matter of time before they started in with the verbal jabs attempting to get information.

Cragen stepped into the bullpen, looking around at the detectives in his charge, his eyes landed on Olivia. "Where's your partner?"

Raising her eyebrows, she shrugged as she slightly shook her heard. "I don't know."

Cragen frowned and started to say something else, but, as if on cue, Elliot stepped through the double doors, hesitating as all eyes turned toward him before then continuing to his desk. Olivia kept her back to him and that was more than fine with him.

"Nice of you to join us, Detective," Cragen said, his tone laced with sarcasm.

"Sorry, Captain. Something came up," he slid into his chair and noticed Olivia visibly tensed even though her back remained to him.

"Looks more like something came down," Munch noted as he ran his finger down the side of his own neck to indicate the mar on Elliot's.

Here we go, thought Olivia. This was not going to turn out well. Sighing, she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you and boy-cop musta gone to the same show last night," Fin pointed out tipping his chin toward Kendal before looking between the two men.

A flash of understanding crossed Cragen features as his eyes drifted from Elliot to Nate to Olivia and he made a mental note of the increased tension in the room upon Elliot's arrival. Kendal's battered face was not easily ignored, but the captain had chosen not to ask. He was just on loan, not really his detective. But Elliot…and Olivia…_they_ belonged to him.

"The name's Kendal, not boy-cop, _boy_," Kendal retorted.

Fin bristled, setting his coffee mug on his desk, he moved quickly toward Kendal. "Looks like you want matching splits on your lip, man."

Cragen stepped in front of him and gave Fin a hard look then glared at Kendal. "Let's keep focused on why we are here," he spoke firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Shooting Kendal a menacing look, Fin backed off. Kendal returned it with a defiant stare. Munch and Olivia traded guarded looks and she could feel Elliot's eyes boring into her back. She did not want to be partnered with him today. Even more, she did not want to be partnered with Kendal, but she knew one of them was a given. At least this little confrontation would keep everyone quiet about Elliot and Nate's banged up faces, she thought.

"We need to find this rapist. He's struck twice…same woman. One PP wants answers." Nodding at Munch, he told him, "Follow up with CSU for any evidence found at the scene." He tapped Fin's shoulder and looked at Elliot. "Fin, Stabler, canvass the area again. Benson, I want you and Kendal to talk to the victim. Pick her brain for any tidbit she might not realize she has. Pick up the rape kit. She's still at Mercy." Jamming his hands in his pockets, his eyes drifted over the crew. "Any questions?"

Olivia's stomach was roiling. She had drawn Kendal. She realized she was breathing heavily and had to consciously bring it back to normal or Elliot would notice. Laughing silently, she knew he already noticed.

"Yeah," Elliot's voice behind her caused Olivia's rapid breathing to completely stop.

If he said anything about her being partnered with Nate, she would kill him. Right there in front of everyone she would kill him.

"What time did this happen?" he continued.

At the question, Olivia released her held breath so loudly everyone looked at her and she coughed to try to cover it, but she knew Elliot knew what was going on.

Cragen flipped open a small note pad he pulled from his pocket. "Approximately 2:40 a.m."

"Why are we just hearing about it now?" Munch asked, puzzled at the time lapse.

"Vic said she was too scared…says he threatened her…she waited nearly six hours to call 911 and then refused to be treated at first." He looked around the group again, waiting. "Anymore questions?" No one said anything. "Get a move on."

Starting back to his office, he stopped and whirled around. "Benson, Stabler! Hold up! My office."

Turning, he continued on, pausing at the door until they entered. He closed the door behind them not bothering to sit at his desk or have them sit, but instead stood facing them. "Anything you need to tell me?"

Watching their faces closely, he took note that they ignored each other, their eyes never meeting for reassurance or answers, which was unusual for them because they _always_ looked at each other in situations like this. That alone told him there was something he should know about, but he also knew they would not be forthcoming with that information. Blue wall.

"Can't think of thing, sir." Elliot stood rigidly, stone faced staring at the captain.

Olivia was intent on the destruction of a large paper clip, bending it first one way and then the other, and refused to meet his eye. "Olivia?"

Lifting her head to briefly meet his gaze, she shrugged and looked back at the bent wire in her hand, as she whispered, "No, sir."

He cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to the other. "So the matching faces you and Kendal are wearing are of no concern to me?"

Elliot licked his lips but continued with his stare. "No, sir."

This was going nowhere, so he sighed, and waved his hands at them. "Dismissed."

He felt the relief flood the room as they started out the door. Then he decided he had one more question. "Olivia…"

_Now_ Benson and Stabler's eyes met and he saw a lightly veiled anger in Elliot's. Olivia seemed to almost whither under his angry glare. Cragen was truly bewildered though not surprised. She now seemed really nervous and he knew his gut feeling was right. He stared at her for a long moment. She tried to smile then bit her lower lip when he didn't return it.

"What's going on?"

She looked at him. "Nothing."

Rubbing his hands over his face, he let out a sharp breath. "Olivia, three detectives under my charge walk into my squad room with bruises on their faces and I'm supposed to believe nothing is going on?"

Looking away, she said nothing. Though the bruises on her cheeks were nothing compared to the men's, and she thought she had done a good job of covering them with makeup, they did not escape Captain Cragen's notice. Not much did, not even the three small bruises from Kendal's fingertips jerking her face to him diligently covered in makeup.

"Detective, I'm going to ask one more time. Is there anything you need to tell me?" he asked softly as he placed his hand at her elbow.

Seeing nothing but concern in on his face as she looked into his sad eyes, she nearly spilled everything. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and replied, "No, Captain. Sir."

"All right." He nodded his head. "All right. Go."

His eyes stayed on her until she and Kendal left the squad room. He had not noticed her bruises until she was in his office. Her makeup was bit heavier and he could barely see the discolored areas, two on her left cheek and one on her right. Two fingers and a thumb. Someone had roughed her up and he _would_ get to the bottom of it eventually.

**Precinct Elevator – Saturday, September 26 – 11:38 a.m.**

Willing herself to stay calm, Olivia was already on edge about being alone with Nate. In an elevator. The cruiser. Anywhere. But she knew she had to do this. He hadn't said anything to her, but now as they waited for the elevator to open on their floor, he spoke.

"Olivia…about last night, I'm really sorry. I…" he began but she cut him off.

"Look, Kendal…I think we both got some wires got crossed. Let's just chalk it up to a bad day and too many drinks. Today's a new start," she tried to smile at him but she knew she didn't quite make it.

He frowned, puzzled that she would let what happened last night slide by so easily. "You sure?"

"Yes."

The elevator door opened and just as they stepped in, Elliot and Fin appeared from out of nowhere to ride with them. Both men glared at Kendal, but Elliot's eyes shifted for the quickest second to Olivia's. She saw his jaw clenching and knew he was tightly wound with his anger and tension from last night and this morning.

"_You_ goin' wit me," Fin commanded as he leaned to speak into Kendal's left ear.

Kendal stared at him before disagreeing. "Captain Cragen said…" he started.

"Cragen ain't here. Hey, El, _you_ see Cragen?"

"Nope." Elliot's eyes never left Kendal.

Fin looked around and shrugged. "Then I guess that's settled."

"Guys, come on. Cragen put us…" Olivia started and Fin cut her off, too.

"Stay outta this, 'Livia." Fin's hand on her arm told her that for whatever reason, this was a done deal. She was pretty sure Elliot said something to him about last night. That had to be why he was stepping in like this. Seething, she now leveled glaring eyes on Elliot.

Kendal and Fin walked away, leaving Olivia and Elliot alone. Madder than a disturbed hornet, she took off out of the precinct, ignoring Elliot. After all, she had the car keys. He ran to keep up with her, easily slid into the passenger seat and buckled up. It was likely to be a rough ride, in more ways than one.

Having only barely slammed his door, she peeled out of the garage, taking the tight turns hard enough to slam him against his side. Then they were out on the streets and she had to slam on brakes when the truck in front of her stopped without warning.

"Whoa! Come on, Benson! You trying to get us killed?" he yelled, hanging onto the dash with one hand and the other braced on the roof.

"No! Just you!" she hollered back.

He shook his head. "Liv…pull over. You don't need to drive when you're like this," his voice softer now, pleaded with her.

"Like what, Stabler? Furious that you told Fin about last night? Incensed that you changed up partners like that just to keep me from Kendal?" She didn't pull over, but she did slow down a little.

Snorting, he angrily snapped back, "I didn't tell him _anything_. He's still fuming over Kendal calling him 'boy'. _That's_ what all that was about. I promise."

Breathing heavily through her nose, she glanced at him, and felt like he was telling her the truth. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Although, he did ask how you got those bruises."

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. "I thought I covered them pretty good."

"He meant those," Elliot tipped his head toward her wrist and the purple stain peeking out from under her jacket sleeve.

Pushing the sleeve up on her other arm, she turned to Elliot in astonishment. Wondering if Cragen saw them, she pulled her sleeve down. "I never even noticed these. I was too intent on covering the ones on my face. What you tell him?"

"That he'd have to ask you."

Fin had steadfastly refused to tell Elliot much of anything about Sealview, and that continued to be a source of contention between them, so Elliot felt justified in not telling him what happened last night. Although the real reason was he didn't want Olivia to be more upset with him than she was already.

Apart from Elliot's intermittent coughing, and almost constant sneezing and sniffling, the rest of the ride was silent.

Canvassing used to be one of the things she really enjoyed doing with Elliot. It gave them time to bounce scenarios and ideas about the case off each other, joke some, talk a little. And that's what they had done lately. Things had slowly been getting better between them. Slowly, and now the situation with Kendal threatened to disrupt them again. Today, the tension was so thick between them, that unable to deal with it any longer she finally gave him half of the addresses, took the other half and told him she would meet him in an hour. To both her relief and surprise, he didn't protest.

**Mercy General Hospital – Saturday, September 26 – 11:38 a.m.**

Just as Fin and Kendal were getting information as to the whereabouts of their rape victim, a doctor heard them and asked if they were detectives. He led them to victim's room and told them the rape kit had been done and was ready for them to pick up.

Kendal took the bags of evidence, holding them as Fin gently spoke to the victim. "I'm Detective Tutuola, this is my partner, Detective…"

"I know Nate from the other night," she glanced up at Kendal,

Fin thought it odd that she referred to him by his first name. He looked at Kendal and then back to the victim. "Yeah…right. What can you tell us about what happened last night?"

She began explaining that she had gone to bed around eleven. About an hour later a phone call from a friend woke her and they talked for about twenty minutes. She went back to bed and then was awakened by someone pulling the covers from her. He raped her repeatedly, punching, slapping and hitting her just like before. Only this time, this time she saw him clearly because the light in the bathroom had been left on.

"Would you be able to describe him to a police sketch artist?" Fin asked her.

Her eyes drifted upwards to Kendal then she looked at Fin again and nodded her head. "I-I think so."

"Good. You feel up to coming to the precinct?"

She hesitated then spoke softly. "Uh…I…my sister is here…I just really want to go home."

"The sooner you can do this, the sooner we can find this creep," Nate impatiently retorted.

Her head snapped to his to meet his stare but she quickly looked away. "I know…I just…I need some time at home."

Fin glared at Kendal before his attention went back to the victim. "I'll send a uniformed cop with the sketcher to your house." He pulled his phone from his belt to check the time. "One o'clock give you 'nough time?"

"Yes. Thank you."

As Fin and Kendal were leaving the room, a slender woman with shoulder length red hair was coming down the hallway. As she neared the two men, she stared intently at Kendal. Just as they were about to pass, she stopped.

"Nate?"

Kendal looked at her confused. Then it was like a light came on. "Oh, Debbie, I mean Mrs. Powell. Hi. Fin this is Debbie Powell. Sister of…" he tipped his chin toward the room they had just left. "Mrs. Powell, this is Detective Tutuola. We're working your sister's case."

Fin extended his hand and said, "Pleased to meet you. We're gonna get this guy."

"Thank you." She looked at Nate.

He smiled and then looked at Fin. "Well, we need to get this kit to CSU."

Walking out, Fin looked back at the woman who simply stood there staring at them as they walked away.

**SVU Squad Room – Saturday, September 26 – 1:52 p.m.**

Olivia and Elliot returned to the precinct and found Fin, Kendal and Munch comparing notes about the case. Cragen sat at his desk talking animatedly to someone on the phone.

"Well, if it isn't the infamous Benson and Stabler. Find anything?" Munch asked, crossing his arms and leaning back on Fin's desk.

Elliot shook his head while Olivia answered. "Nobody saw or heard anything. A woman gets beat and raped right in her own apartment and no one hears anything."

"You know how it goes. They don't want to get involved," Munch returned. "At least Fin and Kendal have good news."

Olivia and Elliot both looked at Fin. "Vic saw the perp this time. Sent a sketch artist to her place. Hopefully, that'll turn up something useful."

Cragen walked up to the group. "Next time you want to change up partners, it goes through me first. You got that?"

The four guilty detectives traded glances before nodding their understanding. Cragen looked at Olivia and Elliot and tipped his head toward Kendal and Fin.

"They tell you she saw the perp?"

"Yeah. Lucky break." Olivia draped her jacket around the back of her chair and sat down at her desk.

"Did she think she…" Elliot stopped in mid sentence at the sight of a woman entering the room.

Oh, no. He had forgotten he was to pick up Eli from the nursery and meet Kathy at the pediatrician's office late yesterday afternoon. That was why she had kept calling him. He had ignored her calls. Nervously he looked at his colleagues and captain. "Excuse me."

Hoping to take care of this quietly, he headed for Kathy and pulled her aside. "Kath. "I'm sorry. I forgot all about it."

"How can you forget about your son, Elliot?" She made pretense of being quiet.

Shaking his head, he ran a hand over his face. "I-I just…something came up and

I…"

"Something has come up for years, Elliot!"

"Kathy…Kathy…look…"

"I could barely do this alone when we were married…I surely can't do it if I'm alone and divorced and working fulltime!"

Way to shout out all their personal dirty laundry, Kathy, he thought as his face darkened. He was furious, embarrassed and wanted to get her out of there before she said anything else.

"Yeah, I know…Kathy, I'll…come by later and we'll talk. Is Eli, okay? What'd the doc say?"

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she nodded. "Missed the appointment."

"I'm sorry, I…"

Rescheduled for next month." She turned to walk out, leaving Elliot standing there.

"Kathy?" He looked at Cragen who nodded his approval at Elliot's unasked question. Then taking a quick look at Olivia, he ran after Kathy.

With Elliot now gone, the group fell silent, remaining as they were: Cragen standing amidst the crew with Munch leaning on Fin's desk; Fin leaning back with his legs propped on his desk; Olivia, her head held by her hands resting along the edges of her jaws; and Kendal sitting at Lake's old desk. The silence was broken by a lone figure who asked who was Captain Cragen, and then handed him a large yellowish, brown envelope and was gone before Cragen could do much more than say thank you.

The envelope crinkled noisily as he loosened the seam. Pulling the paper from its protective covering, he saw it was the sketch they had been waiting on. "Hopefully this will be what we need to nail this guy."

Sliding the paper completely out, he now stared at it. Cragen's forehead furrowed with a frown followed closely by the very visible draining of blood from his face.

The detectives looked around at one another wondering what was wrong. Cragen's lips formed a thin, tight line as his jaw jumped with sudden tension. He didn't know what to say. He slowly looked up at Munch, then Fin, and at last, Olivia.

"Captain?" Olivia's voice was tentative as she stood from her desk to go to Cragen.

Swallowing hard, Cragen just looked at the woman now standing in front of him before handing the sketch to her. As he did, Fin stood up and stepped closer to her as Munch moved to her side at the same time. They both peered over her shoulders at the piece of paper she held in her hand. Kendal, never moving from his seat, quietly watched what was happening.

Fin was the first to say something. "Ain't no way, man."

A voice from the entrance sucked all the attention away from the newest development in the case. "Sorry about that. Forgot Eli's doctor appointment. Supposed to pick him up and meet Kathy at the…"

Seeing the looks on their faces, he faltered in his explanation. "Look, guys, I'm really sorry for this interruption." Then it dawned on him - something happened while he was gone. "What's going on?"

Still no one said a word. And it instantly concerned him. "What?"

Walking toward Olivia, still surrounded by Fin and Munch, Cragen just to the side of them, he looked each one in the eye before locking gazes with his partner. "Liv?"

Standing before her, she was suddenly weighed down by his presence. She wanted to hug him, kiss him, and scream and holler at him as she kicked him to Queens and back, all simultaneously. Such conflicting emotions. And to think she thought things were complicated before.

"Liv?" He said her name again, eyes searching her face.

Realizing Olivia was not going to move, Munch took the sketch from her and handed it to Elliot.

Elliot was staring at an artist's pencil rendering of the man that allegedly raped the victim, not once, but twice. "What the…"

Detective Elliot Stabler was staring at an unmistakable rendering of himself.

~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeoeo ~ ~ ~


	5. Unaddressed

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******Due to crashing hard drives, late nights with little to no sleep, high frustrations and major stress...this chapter was a bit delayed. And again, I have to say THANK YOU so much for you response to Unstable. All of you faithful readers, new readers, and yes, the continuing lurkers, to everyone that reads - thank you! And to all who have taken the time to comment, a huge, hearfelt thank you! It is the only way I know the story is worth writing. Some of you are a little upset with some of the things that have happened...but trust me...there is a ryhme and reason. Just hang with me! ") Bensler**

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**Chapter 5 ~ Unaddressed**

**SVU Squad Room – Saturday, September 26 – 2:17 p.m.**

Elliot continued his intense examination of the sketch in his hand. He shook his head and looked up, scanning the group before dropping his eyes back to the drawing. Once again, all eyes were on him. Munch looked at him with what Elliot thought was pity. Fin just stared at him, slightly shaking his head, incredulous. Cragen's frown looked like it had dug deeper than ever into his forehead. And Olivia, Olivia's eyes searched his face over and over again. He felt like he was being scrutinized, sized up, and that should not be. Not from the people he had basically spent his entire life with for the last ten plus years. Kendal had walked up to the group, but still stood apart from the rest of them, almost as though he were uninterested spectator.

There were no words spoken as each one processed what this could mean. Elliot was as speechless as his colleagues. It made no sense. How could someone describe him as their attacker? To his knowledge he had never even seen the victim except for her picture, and as far as he knew, she had never seen him either. He certainly had not attacked nor raped anyone. The silence that had descended upon the squad room was unbearably loud. He knew they were waiting for answers. The thing was, he had none.

Kendal was the one to break the silence. "Guess this throws a wrench in the investigation."

Everyone looked at him with eyes that ranged from shooting daggers to disbelief that he said _anything_ about this let alone made a remark like that.

Fin let loose with a loud snort and shook his head.

"What? Stabler can't stay on the case when the vic has described her attacker and it looks amazingly like him," Nate defended himself.

"Why don't you just keep your 'pinions to yo'self, man," Fin retorted angrily.

"Unfortunately, he's right," Cragen added as he stepped back and jammed his hands in his pockets.

"Captain…" Olivia started.

At the same time, Elliot said, "No, Cap. You can't take me off…"

"I'm not taking you off the case, but you'll be confined to running down leads and making phone calls from your desk," Cragen said as he slowly looked at each detective. "This stays here. If I find out anyone has leaked this, I'll know where to look." He pointedly let his gaze linger on Nate.

"With all due respect, sir, I don't see how you can let him stay on the case at all. He's a suspect now." Kendal stood straight and stared Cragen in the eye.

"Tell me, Kendal, does it just come natural, or must you work at alienating others?" Munch asked, his indignation at Kendal's inference beginning to get the best of him.

Cragen shot Munch a look and then turned to Kendal. "Detective Stabler has worked for me for fourteen years. He is _not_ a rapist and he is _not_ a suspect unless someone shows me some corroborating evidence. Then I might have to question my instincts. Are we clear, Detective Kendal?" Cragen closed the space between them putting his face less than two inches away as he spoke in a low, rumbling voice.

Merely nodding his head, Kendal backed off. Cragen turned to the rest of the group. "Fin, Kendal. Back to her neighborhood, building. Talk to everyone and I mean _everyone_. See if anyone saw anything or anyone suspicious hanging around."

Fin opened his desk drawer and pulled out a set of keys, straightened his jacket then glared at Kendal. Olivia caught Fin's eye and he shook his head in disgust at Kendal and the whole situation. She answered with a very slight nod of her own.

"Benson, you and Munch talk to CSU and find out exactly what they got this go round. Go over all their reports. Ask questions, find me something. Anything."

"What about the vic? I want to talk to her." Olivia felt Elliot's eyes boring a hole in her.

"I'll take care of that. For now, concentrate on the evidence," Cragen replied. He looked the crew over and then glanced at the clock. "It's two-thirty. Try to be back by six. We'll have a quick briefing and then you can go home."

Elliot remained standing, the sketch in his left hand now hanging limply at his side, watching as his co-workers, his partner left him behind to work a case he should be working. In the field. Just as she and Munch got to the doorway, Olivia stopped and turned to look back at him. Their eyes met for a brief moment and she smiled slightly. He did not have a smile in him and simply stared at her as he chewed on his bottom lip. _He_ should be with her. Not Fin. But at least she wasn't with Kendal.

With their departure the squad room was quiet once more. Cragen watched Elliot staring at the empty doorway. Carefully choosing his words, he cleared his throat.

"Elliot…"

The captain's voice broke Elliot's trance and he looked up at him as he continued. "I _have_ to ask you." Cragen ran a hand over his head, reluctant to do this. "Where were you between two and four a.m. this morning?"

Elliot stared at him, a frown wrinkling his forehead, his mouth slightly open as though he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Slowly, he began to shake his head. "You want an alibi? I can't believe you are…Cap'n, do you really think I could something like this?"

"No. I don't. But when this gets out, I need to be able to say I followed protocol. Just take this as an informal questioning," Cragen told him.

Releasing a deep breath, Elliot ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he shook his head. Of course he had an alibi. He was at Olivia's, but he couldn't tell Cragen without him wondering why and making assumptions. Assumptions that would lead him to split them up as partners. He did not want that. He could not do this job without her. They belonged side by side. If he explained why he was at her place, then he would betray Olivia's trust in him not to tell Cragen about what happened with her and Kendal.

Elliot looked at him. "I was asleep."

"Okay. That's all I need. I'm sure Kathy will confirm that you were at home, then I can write my report." Cragen nodded and started for his office.

Kathy? "Captain…" he said. Cragen stopped and turned to face Elliot. "I…Kathy can't…we…Kathy and I are separated. I'm not living at home."

Cragen stared at him before nodding in understanding. "Can anyone verify where you were last night?"

It was a rather long moment, before Elliot finally shook his head. "No, Sir."

He couldn't betray Olivia. Even if it meant he became a viable suspect, he simply could not tell Cragen he was asleep at Olivia's bedside. This was going to become a bigger mess than it already seemed to be.

Cragen sighed. "Then you better hope that one of those detectives comes up with something that points to the real perp."

**Bradenton Apartments – Saturday, September 26 – 5:16 p.m.**

"I don't think this is a good idea, Liv," Munch said as he held the door open for Olivia.

"Why not?" She stepped through the door and headed for the stairway.

"Cragen said no when you asked about talking to her."

She gave him a sideways glance and rolled her eyes. "Since when do you listen to Cragen?"

He caught her arm, stopping her. "Since you're too close to this."

"John…"

"Olivia. You know I'm right."

Yes, he was right, and yes, she knew it. There was no way she could just let this go. She had to hear the victim describe the attack and the attacker. She had to know why this woman could possibly think it was Elliot when Olivia knew there was no way he was guilty. No way.

"I just need to hear it from her." She turned away and knocked on the door.

Fifteen minutes later they are in the middle of listening to her recount the rape. Olivia tried to ask non-accusatory questions, but she was having a difficult time. "You said you always leave the bathroom light on…why didn't you see the rapist the first time?"

"Uh…I…I…guess…uh…I mean, it wasn't on that night…I must…have turned it off."

Nodding her head, Olivia shifted her eyes to Munch who understood her silent request. Flipping his note pad, he peered over his glasses. "According to both statements, you were attacked from behind. At what point did you see your attacker's face this last time?"

"I…he…when he…he threw me on the bed…he flipped me over and I saw his face because the light was on and…and…I…" she started to cry.

"I'm sorry. We can discuss this further at a later time," Munch told the woman.

"Uh…just one more thing…would you mind showing us your bedroom, please?" Olivia wanted to see the layout for herself.

"Please…it's the first door on the left." She pointed down the hall indicating it was all right for them to go without her.

Standing by the bed, Olivia seemed puzzled. "What is it?" Munch asked.

"I'm not sure." She walked around the bed looking around the room. Tipping her head toward a door in the corner, she asked, "That the bathroom?"

John opened the partially closed door and flipped the light. "Yes."

Nodding, she frowned and looked back at the bed. "Let's get back to the house," Olivia said as she headed out of the room.

**SVU Squad Room – Saturday, September 26 – 6:36 p.m.**

Kendal and Fin had turned up nothing new of value. Two teenage boys remembered a man they were unfamiliar with being in or near the apartment building two days in a row, but the description they gave was somewhat generic. A grocer also remembered seeing a man shopping with the victim a week ago, but again didn't give them much to go on.

CSU had only done preliminary testing and told them it would be tomorrow or Monday before they would have the results from the more extensive tests. Munch and Olivia had read over all the evidence and earlier reports and found nothing new there either.

Elliot had been able to get a warrant to have the victim's phone records dumped and hoped to have that report by Monday morning. Still reeling from the sketch bearing his likeness, he was unusually quiet other than telling them about the phone records. He now sat at his desk, staring at Olivia who was talking to Munch.

Cragen told them they could leave and take Sunday off unless anything came up concerning the case. Fin stood up and stretched.

"Anyone up for dinner?"

"You buying?" Munch asked as he stood also.

"Yeah…with your card," Fin held up a credit card. "Shouldn't leave this laying around."

"Hey, this _is_ a police precinct!" Munch retorted, grabbing at his card.

"All the more reason to protect it," Olivia laughed.

"Sounds good to me," Kendal responded. He had gone to the desk he was using gathering several files, stuffing them into a soft nylon satchel.

"Haven't eaten since breakfast, count me in." Olivia raised her hand and looked over at Elliot who was staring into space.

"El? How 'bout it?" She smiled at him. Their earlier confrontation had all but been forgotten in light of this newest turn of events.

Shaking his head, he logged off, closing down his computer. The others, including Captain Cragen, began trailing out.

"You guys coming?" Fin looked back Olivia and Elliot.

"Going to Bert's?" Liv asked.

"Yeah."

"Meet you there." She told him as she got up and went to Elliot's desk to sit on the corner.

"You eaten?" She knew he had not.

"Not hungry." He did not look up at her.

"Come on. You need to eat and I'm starving."

"No. I'm just going to go home."

"El…"

"No. I don't want to be around everyone, Liv...not when they think…"

"Elliot! No one thinks you did this. No one. Now come on, let's go."

Shaking his head, he refused the offer as he broke into a round of sneezing and coughing. "Nah…I think I'll just go home and get some rest. This cold seems worse. I'll see you later."

**Bert's Diner – Saturday, September 26 – 7:48 p.m.**

Dinner had gone surprisingly well considering all the hard feelings between the crew and Kendal. They had managed to talk about everything except the case, and Elliot, and actually laughed at a round of corny jokes between Munch and Olivia who tried to one-up each other. Olivia was even able to forget about Elliot. Pretty much. She did wonder occasionally if he was okay but not constantly.

The evening wore on and Munch left first, claiming he was tired, followed by Cragen. Then Fin ran into an old friend from Narcotics and they went for drinks, leaving Olivia and Kendal alone. She was nervous but this was what she had been waiting for…to be alone with him again. She needed to work through her unaddressed fears in order to live with herself. This time she had not had any alcohol, but noticed he drank several beers with his meal.

He smiled at her and she managed to smile back. "Well, I guess it's time to call it a night." He pulled his wallet out and laid a couple of bills on the table and stood.

Olivia paid her bill and followed him out.

Walking outside of the diner, Nate hailed a cab. Olivia took a deep breath and spoke. "I've…uh…got my car. I can give you a lift."

Looking at her like he had not heard her correctly, he asked, "You sure?"

Heart pounding furiously, she nodded. "Yeah. You live on my way…it's no big deal."

Smirking at her, he asked, "How do you know where I live?" Maybe he had not read her wrong last night after all.

Biting her lip, she released it. "Always check out people who are supposed to have my back."

A few short minutes later they were in front of his building. She pulled up and cut off the car.

He pulled his satchel from the backseat and turned to her. "Thanks for the ride. See you Monday, if not sooner." Opening the door he started to get out.

"Uh, Nate? I saw you take some files. Gonna work on the case?"

"Yea…planned to go over a few things. Why?"

"Well, I've got a couple of questions. Mind if I come up and we go over it together?"

Staring at her, his eyes narrowed, but he motioned to her. "Not at all. Come on up."

**Stabler Residence – Saturday, September 26 – 9:12 p.m.**

The television did little to drown out the thoughts and images that assaulted him. Elliot stared at the flickering screen but saw nothing other than the drawing of his face, nothing but the face of his accuser, nothing but Olivia and Kendal on her couch. He heard nothing except Cragen asking him where he was last night, and Olivia pleading with him not to leave her alone with Kendal then telling him that she 'may have encouraged' him.

Wishing he had gone with them to eat, he worried about her being around him again in a social setting. He calmed himself with the knowledge that Cragen, Munch and Fin were there to keep things in check. Still he couldn't help but want to at least talk to her and be certain for himself. He picked up his phone, flipped it open and dialed. It rang long enough that it went to voice mail. He was irritated because she never let it do that unless she was mad at him. Redialing, he waited, but not long because now it went straight to voice mail. She ignored the call or turned the phone off. Fine. She didn't want to talk…then he didn't either, he thought as he tossed the phone onto the table.

Anger may have gotten the best of him last night, but still he worried about her. Still he wanted to see her. Talk to her. Tonight, for the first time in a long time, he really needed his partner. And he was willing to admit it. He needed to hear her say she knew he did not rape that woman. He knew she would never believe he could do something like this, but still, he needed to hear it. Hear her voice tell him, she knew he did not do this. And he needed to tell her he knew she did not really want to be with Kendal. Needed to apologize for how he acted this morning. There were so many unaddressed issues between them, he sometimes wondered if they would ever be able to work through them all.

**Kendal Residence – Saturday, September 26 – 9:19 p.m.**

"There's nothing here." Olivia dropped the file in her hand onto the coffee table and leaned back into the couch.

"Maybe when we get CSU's reports, there will be something useful." Kendal leaned back, too.

They had been going over the files for an hour. He had offered her a drink, but she declined, opting to sip on the bottle of water she had brought up with her. She was not about to get caught up in the situation she was in last night. Had that only been twenty-four hours ago? Was she an absolute idiot, she wondered?

Though there was a little space between them, he was sitting close and she was just a bit nervous. He turned to her. "You sure you okay about last night?"

"Hmmm…yeah. Just…things got a little mixed up. That's all." She pulled a smile from somewhere.

Leaning closer, he took a strand of her hair and rubbed it between his fingers. "You have beautiful hair."

Smiling, she barely whispered, "Thank you."

Since she offered no resistance, Kendal decided to push on because he still wanted Olivia Benson. Slowly, he released her hair, and gently brushed his knuckles across her cheek until he used his index finger under her chin to lift her face to his. The kiss was tentative, slow and sweet. He needed to be careful and pace himself. She was stone cold sober tonight, so there would have to be no doubt that whatever happened here was consensual. Besides, he was relatively sure she could kick his butt sober.

It took all she had to let him kiss her again and she was caught off guard by his overall gentleness and the sweetness of his kiss. She found herself almost enjoying it and when he pulled away, she almost wished he would kiss her again. It had been a long time since she had been kissed so tenderly. Too long, but he was not who she wanted.

Sensing that she was not upset over his move, he stared into her eyes for a long moment, before kissing her again. When she responded, he had to hold himself back. He was not about to mess things up, so he continued in an easy manner. They kissed for a very long time before he kicked it up a notch and became a bit more demanding and insistent. When she met his intensity, he could not have been more thrilled. Deciding it was time to go to the next level, he moved his left hand unhurriedly closer and closer to her breast. Just before he actually was able reach his intended destination, she put her hand over his and pulled away.

"Uh…I…need…the restroom?" she stammered.

Disinclined to stop, he knew he had no choice, and pulled away from her, sitting back on the couch. Pointing toward the hallway, he mustered a smile.

"Second door on the right."

Standing up and running her hands through her hair, she smiled and hurried down the hall. She noticed his bedroom to the left, the bed unmade, clothes strewn all around. As soon as she closed the bathroom door behind her, she flipped her phone open and sent a text message. Since silencing it when Elliot called earlier, she set the phone to ring again, then quietly opened the medicine cabinet. Nothing. Opening each of the three drawers on the vanity, she struck out again.

Exasperated, she flushed the toilet then opened the cabinet under the sink. At first glance she saw nothing. After moving a few rolls of toilet tissue, some towels, and rummaging through his shaving kit, she sighed. Suddenly, her eyes fell to something that seemed totally out of place for a bathroom. A small tin of mints tucked into the back corner of the storage area. Picking it up, she opened it and saw ten small mints. Pulling a small plastic evidence bag from her front jean pocket, she put one in it, and sealed it. She reached up to turn on the faucet, dampened her hands, turned the water off and used the hand towel.

Smiling as she came back into the living room, she saw Nate was still sitting right where she left him, only he had two glasses of wine in his hands. He was crazy if he thought she was going to drink anything he had to offer. Fear suddenly swept through her and she silently begged her phone to ring. Gradually making her way back to the couch, he offered her one of the glasses, as she drew near.

"Thought you might like a glass of wine." He smiled as he lifted the glass to her.

She took it and sat down. "Thanks, but I'm really full from dinner and I don't like to drink on a full stomach. Gives me indigestion."

"Suit yourself." Kendal leaned across her taking her glass causing a few drops to fall on her tee shirt, and setting it on the table beside her. "Oh, I'm sorry…"

Call! Call! Call! Please, call, she was shouting in her head.

"It's fine…just an old shirt."

"Okay…now, where were we?" he leaned in and captured his lips with his.

She counted the seconds until her cell phone rang. Pushing him away, she sat up. "Sorry." She raised her eyebrows at him. "Benson."

"Oh, no! It slipped my mind." She looked at her watch. "Is it too late?" Pause. "Okay…see you ten."

Closing the phone, she slipped into its case at her waist, and looked at Nate. "I forgot all about meeting some friends for drinks at nine."

He was upset, but determined not to let it show. "Oh, okay."

"I'd ask you to come along, but, you know…girls night out."

"No problem."

She stood and headed for the door. He followed and stopped her, giving her a quick kiss. "Maybe another time?"

She smiled and left. She couldn't get out of there fast enough. Relief flooded her as soon as she got out of that apartment. Taking the stairs as fast as she could she was on her way across town in minutes.

Leaning against the closed door, Kendal, still puzzled over Olivia's readiness to forgive and forget last night and then come to his apartment alone, thought long and hard about what had happened tonight. She was a sex crimes cop. That she would willingly put herself in the position of being alone with a man who had nearly raped her just last night, made no sense. None. Unless…unless she was really still acting in cop mode. A thought flashed through his mind and he pushed off from the door and ran to the bathroom.

Taking in the small room, nothing seemed out of place so he went straight for the bottom storage area. Nothing appeared to have been moved, but still he reached for the small tin at the back. Opening it, he glanced over the contents, then stood and slammed it down on the counter. Staring into the angry, yet amused reflection in the mirror, he shook his head and looked deeply into his own eyes.

"You think you're so smart, don't you, Detective Benson? Just wait." Laughter echoed in the small room, he whispered. "Just wait."

~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeoeo ~ ~ ~


	6. Unanswerable

**You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for reading my story. As usual, this chapter has twists and turns. Can't wait to see what you think! " ) Bensler**

**Chapter 6 ~ Unanswerable **

**Warner Residence – Saturday, September 26 – 9:52 p.m.**

"Olivia. Come in." Melinda Warner's face was etched with the concern she had felt since Olivia had texted her to call her cell phone in ten minutes. Dressed for bed, a light blue cotton robe was thrown on over her pink, blue and green striped short pajamas and matching tee shirt.

Melinda's husband peeked around the corner from the kitchen and smiled. "Hi, Olivia."

"Hi, Henry. Sorry it's so late." Olivia smiled back and looked between him and Melinda.

"No problem. We're just two old married folks already in our jammies and it's not even ten o'clock on a Saturday night," he laughed, taking a plateful of cookies and a glass of milk upstairs. "Good night."

"Good night."

"I'll be up soon, hon, " Melinda called up the stairs.

"Thanks for letting me come by," Olivia said, reaching into her front jean pocket to retrieve the small evidence bag.

"What's going on?" Melinda watched Olivia pull the bag from her pocket.

"I've got something I want you to look at, test it to see if it's Rohypnol?" She handed the bag to Melinda.

"It couldn't wait until the morning? You know I have to work in the morning. I was asked to help out in the CSU since they are shorthanded because of Ryan and Stuckey," she asked, taking the bag from Olivia.

"No, I didn't know that, but I didn't think it could wait anyway. I was afraid that…I…he…uh…no, it really couldn't wait." Olivia shook her head and stared at the bag now in Melinda's hand. "I had to be sure you got this."

"Olivia?" Melinda knew the look on Olivia's face was fear. "Are you in danger?"

Her eyes flew to Melinda's. "What?"

"You _heard_ the question."

Sucking her top lip between her teeth, and slowly shaking her head, she replied, "No. At least I don't think so."

"This has to do with last night?"

"Yeah…it does."

"Where'd you get this?"

"I can't say."

"Can't or won't?"

"I'll tell you soon. Promise, but please, I just…I need to know."

Melinda held up the bag and looked at the tablet in it, turning it over to scrutinize it. "Well, though it's comparable in size, it looks like a regular mint. If it's Rohypnol, it's not the brand name."

"How can you be sure just by looking at it?"

"The brand name tablet has Roche, and either a number one or two within a circle stamped on one side, and on the other there is either a single or double score. This has nothing on it. But if it's something similar or a counterfeit, I'll know when I test it."

Frowning, Olivia nodded. "Okay, okay. Uh…will you let me know as soon as you can?"

Melinda smiled and nodded back.

"Thanks." Olivia turned and opened the door. "And…can we keep this between us?"

Melinda stared at her for a long minute, wondering why she would want to keep this from Elliot since he was the one who brought her to the lab. Finally, she answered, "Sure."

**SVU Squad Room – Sunday, September 27 – 12:10 p.m.**

Munch had picked up sandwiches for everyone and they were now sitting at their respective desks almost finished eating and drinking while flipping through files, reading facts out loud and bouncing scenarios off each other.

"What we need is for this guy to trip up," Munch sighed and leaned back in his chair as he wadded the wrap from his sandwich and tossed it at Fin.

"What we need is to hear from CSU." Olivia closed the file in her hand and dropped in on her desk with a loud whack. "Maybe he already tripped up."

Fin caught the paper and tossed it in the trash as he stood and stretched, then made his way to Olivia's desk. He picked up the file she had just dropped and opened it. "Where'd you go last night? One minute you and Kendal are makin' cozy and the next I see is ya'll gettin' in your car," he spoke quietly but not quietly enough.

Her eyes quickly lifted to Elliot's and she knew he heard Fin's question. Shifting uncomfortably, she leaned toward Fin to softly reply. "Thought you and your friend left to get drinks?"

"We did. Just across the street…sat at an outside table. So, where'd you go?" Fin's tone was borderline demanding and Olivia did not like it.

Glaring at him, she leaned even closer, and ground out in a low voice, "Not really your business, is it?"

He frowned at her giving her an incredulous look then slowly shook his head, "Nah, guess it ain't." Fin straightened and turned to walk away, but had second thoughts and turned back, leaning close to her once again. "But as your friend, I gotta tell ya, I don't like 'im. 'Keep your eyes open, 'Livia, and don't turn yo' back."

She stared into his dark, brown eyes before nodding and then glancing at Elliot who's icy, blue eyes penetrated hers. He was upset and she did not want to deal with him right now. She wished Fin had said what he wanted privately.

So, far everything had gone smoothly this morning. Kendal was friendly, but not pushy. He did ask if she'd like to get dinner later, but she managed to put him off, saying later in the week would be better. He accepted her answer with a smile and went on about his business. She was careful not to be anywhere he could privately mention last night.

Cragen's door opened and he hollered, motioning them to the office, "Fin, Kendal!"

A few short minutes later they walked out, Kendal holding up a piece of paper in his hand. As they headed for the door, Fin said, "Got a possible witness on the case. Be back in about an hour."

Munch nodded at them on his way to take a stack of folders to the file room. "See you then."

Olivia tried to act like she was reading the report in front of her even though the words were merely letters that seemed to be in a freefall from nowhere. The black and white of the page blurred and she saw nothing that made sense. Keenly aware of Elliot's eyes on her, she did not dare look up at him for fear that he would think she was giving him permission to say what was on his mind.

Leaning across the space between them, he hissed, "Olivia." Apparently, he did not need her permission to speak. But she already knew that, didn't she? "What Fin said…that true?"

"Elliot…" she closed her eyes, hoping he would let it drop.

"Answer me!" The whisper was harsher now and not to be ignored.

"Not now, Elliot, okay?" Opening her eyes, she looked into his. She would beg if it would make him shut up.

"No, it is not okay! Did Kendal get in your car and go somewhere with you?"

"Hold it down, before Cragen comes out here," she hissed back at him.

He lowered his voice just a little. "Then answer me."

"I took him home."

Elliot jumped up from his chair so quickly it sent it flying into the chair and desk behind him, bouncing and twirling in the space between. His eyes bulged, his face turned purple, his mouth fell open and the vein in his neck looked like it would burst at any moment.

"You took him _home_!?" he shouted. "You took the son of a…"

Olivia stood, too, her heart slamming against her chest. Cragen surely heard him now, she thought, just as Munch returned from the file room. From where Elliot was he could not see him, but Olivia did and she saw the bewilderment on his face.

Realizing what Elliot thought, she tried to explain, knowing it would not help much if at all that she took Nate to _his_ home, not _hers_. "No, I…"

"After what happened Friday night you took him home? I don't understand you, Olivia! What were you thinking? Or did you _want_ to pick up where he left off? Huh?"

"No! That's not what I…"

"Then what? If I hadn't showed up…" He spun around slapping his hand on top of his head. "The man nearly ra…"

Suddenly Cragen's voice roared above theirs. "Benson! Stabler! That's enough!" He looked absolutely infuriated.

Instantly, silence engulfed the room as the two detectives continued to glare at one another. "Is there a problem I need to know about?" Don Cragen gruffly demanded. He had not seen them this angry since the Masoner case. No. Since Gitano. What was going on with these two, he wondered?

Olivia was the first to look away and lock eyes with their captain. She had nothing to say, so she simply shook her head.

"You get whatever this is worked out before tomorrow when the rest of the staff is here. And you do it _quietly_, or you do it somewhere besides my squad room. Are we clear?" he glared at the two detectives, waiting for an answer.

"Yes, Sir." Olivia's voice was just above a whisper as she looked at him and then let her eyes fall to the floor.

Elliot was still glaring at her, she felt it; it burned; it stung. She felt like something was boring holes straight through her soul.

"Detective?" Cragen's hard stare was on Elliot, waiting for his acknowledgment to the order.

Still not looking away from Olivia, he spoke, his voice deep with anger. "Yeah…it's clear." As an afterthought he added, "Sir." Then he spun and head out of the squad room.

Olivia started after him, but Cragen stopped her. "Let him go. Got a call for you and Munch." He handed her a scrap of paper. "Report of someone beating a young boy in the park."

Munch grabbed his jacket and Olivia picked up the keys and her cell phone. As they walked out, Cragen called her back. "Olivia." She stopped and looked back at him. "Iif you need to talk…" he spoke softly now, concern filling his sad, brown eyes.

Finding a small smile, she tipped her head toward him, and turned to follow Munch.

**Police Cruiser – Sunday, September 27 – 1:00 p.m.**

The call ended up being a father who had spanked his son for throwing sand at his younger sister and friend. After questioning him, the boy, his sister and friend, and several witnesses, the detectives were satisfied that no crime had been committed. It took them barely twenty minutes and they were now on the way back to the precinct.

"I couldn't help but overhear you and Elliot," Munch said casually as he looked out the passenger window.

He turned to her and Olivia looked over at him, rolling her eyes, saying nothing.

"What happened between you and Kendal?"

"Nothing," she said firmly.

The look he gave her made her feel guilty for coming back at him like she did. "I'm sorry. I know you aren't just being nosy, John. I just don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"This has to do with Elliot and Kendal sporting cuts and bruises, doesn't it? Will you at least answer that?"

Looking over at him again, she nodded.

"Liv, if he hurt you…"

"He didn't."

John Munch felt the anger rising in him as he reiterated, "If he hurt you, you know he's going to have to deal with all of us." He was going to kill Nate Kendal. That is, if there was anything left of him after Elliot was through with him.

Smiling, she shook her head. "What would I do without you guys?"

**SVU Squad Room – Sunday, September 27 – 1:30 p.m.**

The only person in the squad room when Olivia and Munch returned was Elliot. He was on the phone and hung up just as Olivia approached her desk. Cragen's office was empty and Munch looked around and asked, "Heard from Fin?"

Elliot barely looked at him, his eyes glued to Olivia. "Nope."

"Where's Cragen?"

"Stepped out."

"Well, aren't you just the chatty one today?"

"John…" Olivia warned.

Munch's sarcasm irritated Elliot. "You got something you want to say to me?"

"Elliot…" Olivia didn't want anything else started.

"Already said it." Munch sat down and brought up his log-in screen, ignoring Elliot's continuing glare.

"El…" Olivia stood, went to him, and tugged on his arm, pulling him up the stairs.

As soon as they were in the crib, she turned to him. "Go ahead. Get it out of your system. I can't take being around you when you are like this."

"Like this? Like what?" he yelled.

"Angry. Furious. Jealous…" she knew she should not have said that last word.

"Jealous? You think I am jealous over Kendal! I don't believe this!" He slammed his fist into a trash can with a swinging lid, sending it flying across the floor. Fortunately the office janitorial services had emptied all the trashcans yesterday.

Olivia jumped back and held up her hands as though protecting herself.

"I am not jealous, Benson!" he was still shouting. The look on her face was one he was not sure he had ever seen, at least not when he was the reason for it. She looked scared. Of him. He shook his head and swallowed hard. When spoke this time, his voice was softer. "I'm afraid of something happening to you."

"Elliot…nothing is going to happen to me," she looked at him, realizing he really was worried.

Taking a step closer to her, he reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. When he did, he pulled her to him and held her for a just a few seconds. "You don't know that. You don't know Kendal. If I hadn't come around the other night, Liv…"

She sighed and pulled away, shaken that he had held her like that. He was so tender and his embrace felt so good. Too good. He was still married. "I…I…you're right. I'll be careful."

"What was last night about? Why'd you take him home?"

She looked at him and then away. Looking back, she licked her lips and sighed. "Promise you won't say anything until I finish talking?"

His eyes narrowed and he cleared his throat. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

With a slow shake of her head, she replied, "No. Do you want to hear it or not?"

Chewing the inside of his cheek as he looked her over, he nodded.

"Then promise."

"I promise to let you tell it all before I say anything."

"Okay. After the other night, I wanted to be able to prove that Kendal drugged me."

"Melinda told you…"

"Elliot!"

"Sorry…go ahead."

"I knew he did, but I wanted proof. I figured the only way to get it was to be able to be in his apartment and look around a bit. So, I offered to take him home last night. I knew he had taken some case files, so I asked if I could come up and go over them with him. After about an hour, he…well, he made some moves and I cut it short and asked to use the bathroom."

She looked at Elliot and knew he was about to explode. His jaw was grinding, he was breathing heavily from his nose, and his hands fisted, but he kept his word and let her talk. He'd probably have some cracked teeth when she was finished, but at least he would know exactly what and why she did what she did.

"I searched the bathroom and found a tin of mints in the cabinet under the sink. Who the heck keeps breath mints under the bathroom sink? They were in the far back corner. I took one and gave it to Melinda after I left his place." She took a deep breath. "When I went back into the living room, he had poured wine for us. I told him I was too full from dinner and it would give me indigestion. He started…uh…he…well, then Mel called and I got out of there by telling him I forgot I was to meet some friends for drinks."

Elliot was furious. Willing himself to calm down, he took long, slow breaths, and closed his eyes. But when he did, he kept seeing Olivia and Kendal on her couch, his shirt off, hers open. The rage filled him and he pounded his right fist into his left palm. "I'll kill him! I swear, I'll kill him!"

"El…" she put a hand on his arm, hoping to settle him.

Her touch was like a branding iron, burning into him. "Did he…did he do anything to you?"

Searching his eyes, she tried to decide how much to tell him. "Just…uh…kissed me a few times…that's all."

Elliot took her by the arm and made her look at him. "You swear that's all?"

"Yes," she whispered.

He nodded. "What'd Melinda say?"

"Haven't heard back from her."

The door to the crib opened, they each drew back from one another as Munch stuck his head in, looking back and forth between them. "Captain wants us all in his office."

**Office of Captain Cragen – Sunday, September 27 – 1: 50 p.m.**

"Fin and Kendal are caught in traffic from an accident. Just as well. I don't know that I want Kendal knowing about this," he sighed loudly and looked at the three detectives sitting in front of him.

"Knowing about what, Cap?" Olivia flanked by Elliot on the right and Munch on the left, glanced at each man before looking back at Captain Cragen.

It was only now that she noticed the grim look on his face and that he could not hold her eyes for any length of time. She cast another look at the men on each side, holding Elliot's gaze just a little longer, as her stomach clenched.

Cragen's hand reached for a stack of stapled papers that were lying on top of a golden envelope. He held it in both hands, his lips a thin line. Finally, he looked up at the three sets of eyes staring, waiting.

Inhaling a deep breath, he spoke. "CSU brought the crime scene analysis to me a few minutes ago."

The silence in the office was deafening; the atmosphere thick with apprehension; the three detectives frozen.

"DNA samples found under her fingernails matched someone in the system, as did a fingerprint found on a pen at the scene," he spoke haltingly, in a low voice, his eyes remained on the papers in front of him.

"That's good, right?" Munch asked as he looked at Elliot and Olivia.

Cragen looked at each of them then shook his head. "No. It's not good."

Olivia could not stand it anymore. She stood, leaned across Cragen's desk and took the report from him. He let her take it, his shoulders slumping as he leaned back in his chair.

Watching Cragen for a moment, fear ran through her before she let her eyes scan the report she now held in her hand. Munch read over her shoulder. Elliot watched her face, puzzled at all that seemed to be going on. When her hands began to shake and she paled, he knew whatever it was, Cragen was right. It was not good.

Looking at Elliot, her eyes welled with tears as she fell into her chair, the report at her side. Nausea swept over her and she could barely breathe.

Elliot took the report from her and quickly read over it. Shaking his head, slowly at first, it became violent as he stood and shook the report in Cragen's face. "No. No! NO! This is not right! Captain, something's wrong! This can't be! How can they have this evidence? Where did the DNA come from? And the fingerprint? How!? Tell me!!"

Each question or declaration was louder than the one before. Olivia fought the bile rising her throat; Munch was in absolute shock, knowing there was no way this could be yet, having no explanation for it; Cragen felt lost. For the first time in a long time he did not know what to do. For the first time in a long time, he had no answers because the questions were entirely unanswerable.

"Captain, I swear to you! I did not rape that woman! I have never been in her apartment! I have never even seen her in person! How in the heck can they say it was my DNA, my fingerprint?! John, I didn't do this! Liv, you gotta believe me. I would never, ever do something like this!"

Elliot's voice faded away and his eyes fell once more to the chart of matching lines and words stamped on the report he held in his hand, the report that held his future, his life.

NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT CSU LAB File # 87A432G938CR

DNA Analysis of Fluids Found At Crime Scene #4E54B8923

DNA samples from:

#1 Crime Scene

#2 Elliot Stabler

#3 Unknown Male

Analysis of Fingerprint(s) Found From At Scene #4E54B8923

Fingerprints from:

#1 Crime Scene

#2 Elliot Stabler

#3 Five Unidentified Persons

COMMENTARY: Elliot Stabler is a match.

~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeoeo ~ ~ ~


	7. Underlying

**Don't know what was going on, but I could not get my chapters to download to the document manager on here...but finally it is working again. Thank you so very much for all the awesome response to this story...I really hope to have it finished before the premiere...I'd hate to have compete with that...lol. Anyway, let me know what you think. " ) Bensler**

******************

**Chapter 7 ~ Underlying **

**Office of Captain Cragen – Sunday, September 27 – 3:15 p.m.**

Cragen was left with no choice. He had called One Police Plaza and left a message that he needed to to talk with the Chief of Detectives. Knowing that the Chief would, in turn, involve the Internal Affairs Board, wished there had been another way. Presently his office was filled with an array of people. With the Chief and Cragen looking on, Tucker had questioned Elliot. And Olivia, since she was his partner. Cragen now looked around his office at Elliot, Olivia, the Chief and Sergeant Tucker from IAB. He wished someone would wake him up from what had become a nightmare.

Though Elliot sat as still as could be, his head held high, a look of determination on his face, Cragen saw the underlying fear. The color had seeped from his features, a sickly pallor replacing it. He noticed how his hands clenched and unclenched, the nervous jumping of his jaw.

Olivia was quietly gnawing on her bottom lip as she distractedly played with the hem her shirt. It was though she were in another world, preoccupied, and Cragen knew she was trying to think of a way to get her partner of ten plus years off the hook. She looked like she could lose her lunch any minute.

"You know the drill, Captain Cragen." Tucker looked at Elliot and the slightest smirk turned his lips as he looked at him, thinking that Elliot finally completely screwed up. "Read him his rights and…" There was no love lost between Tucker and SVU, especially for Elliot and Olivia. He seemed to have some sort of vendetta against them.

"Now hold up. I know how this looks…"

"How this _looks_?" Tucker was incredulous. "Captain, this man fits the description the victim gave; it looks like he sat for the police sketch; his DNA was found at the scene and under her fingernails; an object with his fingerprint was found there, also. What more do you need?" Tucker bellowed inches from Cragen's face.

"I've known Detective Stabler for almost fourteen years. He is a fine man and good cop…" he said defensively.

"Good cop? His jacket says otherwise!" Tucker held up Elliot's file, thick with reprimands and suspensions, shaking it in Cragen's face.

"Sergeant Tucker, back off," the Chief demanded as he stood, his eyes daring Tucker to disobey.

Cragen sent Tucker a deadly stare then shifted his eyes to address the statement to the Chief rather than Tucker. "What I need is more time for my detectives to find out what is really going on."

The Chief looked around the room at each person before bringing his gaze back to Cragen.

"Don, we go way back. I trust you. I trust your judgment. Are you willing to put not only your reputation, but quite possibly your job, on the line for your detective?"

"Captain, no." Elliot fiercely shook his head. "I can't you let you that."

Olivia sat up straight in her chair, now completely in tune with what was going on in the room. Her eyes traveled from Elliot to Cragen to the Chief to Tucker and back again. She knew Captain Cragen was extremely protective of the squad, but she never dreamed he would risk his job for them.

Cragen stared at Elliot for a long moment then silently looked at each other person in the room before locking eyes with the Chief. "Elliot Stabler would never rape a woman."

The Chief's eyes narrowed before he gave a half nod. "How much time?"

Cragen couldn't believe he was even asking. He thought the Chief would nix the idea, leaving no option but to arrest and process Elliot as their perp as though he were a mere criminal.

Never wavering from the Chief's gaze, he replied, "Seventy-two hours."

"Forty-eight. After that, Stabler goes to central booking." The Chief turned to Elliot. "As for the next forty-eight hours, you are on administrative leave. With pay. I don't have to tell you to stay accessible."

Elliot nodded grimly.

The Chief turned to leave, Sergeant Tucker following closely behind. At the door, he stopped and looked back at Cragen as Tucker stepped out. "For both of your sakes, I hope you find something to exonerate Detective Stabler."

The office door closed as Cragen, Olivia and Elliot stared after it, each lost in their own thoughts.

Elliot broke the silence by standing as he spoke. "Captain… I don't know what's going on…but I did not do this."

Cragen came toward Elliot. "I know." Placing his right hand on Elliot's left shoulder, he told him, "You go on home and try to get some rest."

Elliot nodded. As he opened the door and started out, he glanced at Olivia.

"El…" Since he didn't stop, she started to follow him, but Cragen grabbed her by the arm.

"Let him go."

"Captain, I need…you don't understand…I…he…"

"He needs to work this out on his own, Olivia." Cragen released his hold on her. "Just give him some time."

"No. He needs _me_ to tell the truth." She met Cragen's look of confusion dead-on.

Cragen had all kinds of things running through his head. The _truth_? Had she withheld evidence? What had these two done now, he wondered? Was there some way Olivia was involved in this? Or had she just been covering for Elliot? He knew they were close and he knew there was very little, if anything, they would not say or do to protect the other.

Cragen's eyes bored into hers. Brown on Brown. "I'm listening."

He leaned against the edge of his desk while she stood staring out into the squad room watching Elliot shut down his computer and gather things from his desk. Raking her hands through her hair, she turned back to the captain.

"Elliot was with me the night of the second rape." Upon her confession, a big whoosh of air escaped from her lips.

Cragen heard what she said but he had trouble wrapping his mind around the statement. It made no sense, unless…unless she meant he was with her the _whole_ night. And that would lead to other questions and potential problems. So he asked.

"The _whole_ night?" The look on his face was one of astonishment and disbelief.

The blush creeping from her chest up her neck to her face was really all the confirmation he needed. He had always suspected an underlying element to the tight bond they had, still, this caught him off guard. But still he waited for her answer.

Olivia felt the heat traveling to her face and she knew Cragen would notice it, but there was nothing she could do about it. She nodded her answer.

Sighing deeply, Cragen crossed his arms over his chest, tipped his head back slightly, and stared at her, waiting for an explanation.

"I…I had gone out…had too much to drink. Elliot…uh…he…uh…stopped by…and…and I was…well, he…uh…didn't think it was a…good idea…for me to be alone. He stayed over."

Fidgeting and unable to hold his gaze, Cragen was sure there was much more to this story than she was sharing.

"And he was there the _whole_ night?" He had to be sure he understood what she had said.

Her eyes fell shut; the whispered response was barely audible, the nod of her head barely noticeable. "Yes."

"And neither of you saw the need to inform me of this earlier because…"

"Captain, he was with me all night. Can we just leave it at that? Please?"

Nodding, he pushed off from his desk and stood inches from her. "You know if this goes to trial this information will be made a matter of public record."

"It's not going to trial," Olivia assured him. She turned and left his office, leaving Cragen wondering just what was going on and how much more he did not know.

**Office of Dr. Melinda Warner, Medical Examiner – Sunday, September 27 – 5:38 p.m.**

"It's a mint. There are very minute traces of something else, but it's not enough to get a reliable reading. If I had the tin, maybe." Melinda handed the evidence bag with the remnants of the mint to Olivia.

"So, we have nothing…" She sighed as she shook her head slowly, staring at the small bag in her hand.

"I'm sorry." Melinda patted Olivia's shoulder.

Suddenly, Olivia's head snapped up, her eyes grew wide. "He spilled some wine on me…on my tee shirt…I didn't drink it because…" Her eyes caught Melinda's. "Could you tell from the stains if there was anything in the wine?"

"You haven't washed the shirt?"

Olivia laughed. "It was just last night and I only do laundry once a month, if I can away with it."

"I'll run home and get it. Be back in less than thirty."

Pacing back and forth, continually looking at her watch, Olivia anxiously waited for Melinda to finish the tests on the wine stains. After what seemed like forever, Melinda looked up from her computer and smiled.

"Rohypnol." She stood and went to the printer to retrieve the report. Offering it to Olivia, she held it tightly when her fingers reached for it. "You going to tell me who did this to you?"

"Mel…"

Olivia's unspoken request did not stop Melinda. The tug of war for the report continued.

"Liv…I'm putting a lot on the line here."

"I know and I will tell you…but not right now…I can't." Eyes pleading for acceptance, she was relieved when Melinda released the report and nodded.

"Thank you."

**Stabler Residence - Sunday, September 27 – 7:25 p.m.**

Propping his legs on the table near the empty bottle, the vibrations knocked it over and it rolled across the surface back and forth until it lost its momentum. Lifting the new bottle to his lips, he chugged nearly half of it before stopping. Leaning his head back he closed his eyes and replayed everything that had happened the last week and especially the last couple of days.

How did things get so screwed up? He probably should call Kathy and let her know what was going on because when he was arrested it would be all over the news. Unless they came up with something in the next forty-eight…he glanced as the clock on the wall…no, forty-three hours and fifty minutes…his career was over. His life as he knew it was over.

The shrill of his cell phone pulled him from his morose thoughts. Liv, the screen read. Inhaling a deep breath, he opened the phone. He did not want to deal with her right now. He just wanted to be left alone. Didn't he? He didn't know what he wanted. His life was imploding and he had no idea what to do about it.

"Stabler."

There was a pause. "Stabler?" she snorted. "You can see it's me, why'd you answer like that?"

Sighing loudly, he ignored her question. "What do you want, Olivia?"

Apparently he was mad at her or something, she realized. Deciding to try and make light of the obviously tense situation, she retorted, "That's a loaded question."

Rolling his eyes, he repeated the question. "What do you want?"

"Open the door and maybe I'll tell you." As she spoke she knocked at his door.

"How'd you find me?" He did not recall telling her he was in same apartment he had lived in when he and Kathy split the first time.

"Detective skills come in quite handy at times." She chuckled.

Pulling his legs from the table, he closed the phone, tossed it on the lamp table then stood and made his way to the door. Swinging it open but blocking it, he stared down at her. She was shorter than usual and he noticed she had on tennis shoes instead of her three or four inch heeled boots she normally wore. Boots would not go with the light blue running shorts and gray NYPD tee shirt she had on.

Hands behind her back, she grinned up at him. "You gonna let me in?"

"You gonna tell me you want?"

Smiling as she brought her hands in front of her, she held up two white paper bags. Now Elliot grinned.

"My-lings?" He opened the door to let her in.

"Yep." She stepped inside and headed for the kitchen.

"I appreciate this and all, but I'm really not hungry."

Moving a pile of mail and magazines aside, she scooped up a paper plate with a half eaten piece of pizza and wadded up napkin and dumped it into the trash. She took note of the empty beer bottles and cans and turned to look up at Elliot.

"You need something on your stomach besides beer and I haven't eaten since the bagel I had this morning. And I don't want to eat alone." She opened a box and handed him a spoon and a paper plate.

Twenty minutes later they were cleaning up the leftovers. Elliot took a carton from her and put it in the refrigerator. He handed her a new bottle of water and they headed for the living room. She was about to sit down on the couch when he put his hand on her arm and turned her to face him. He was scraping first his bottom and then lower lip with his teeth and she knew he was nervous and upset and needed assurance from her.

"I didn't rape that woman, Liv," he said quietly, yet earnestly. The look on his face was serious, pleading and hopeful all at once.

Their eyes locked for a long moment as though trying to read each other. He was hoping to find that she trusted him, believe him; she was hoping to find that he knew she could never believe he was capable of such an egregious act.

"Do you think that if I believed it for even a split second I would have brought you dinner?"

She playfully poked at him, but suddenly the hand on her arm slid around her waist as his other hand grabbed hers pulling it around his waist and then went around her shoulder to draw her close to him, their faces inches apart. Stunned by this action, Olivia found herself frozen in place but strangely liking the feel of being in his arms.

"Liv…" he whispered gruffly as he leaned down and softly grazed her temple with his lips.

The ringing of his cell phone broke the spell of the moment and they both glanced down at the offender, its screen lit up. Olivia really was not trying to who was calling, but it was hard not to see the big blue block letters announcing the caller. Kathy. Olivia noticed Elliot grimaced before he closed his eyes as he picked up the phone. Meeting her stare he opened the phone.

"Kathy…"

Olivia put on her poker face and tried to seem anything but interested in his conversation with his wife. Ex-wife. Almost ex-wife. She didn't know what Kathy was anymore than she knew what she herself was to Elliot. And she never knew what she was to Elliot other than his partner, verbal sparring mate and punching bag. And, yes, sometimes best friend.

"Kath…wait…Kathy…come on…Kathy, Kathy!"

Forget the poker face, Olivia was now concerned because of the edge in Elliot's voice as well as the panic that was now written across features. All the color drained from his face, his eyes widened in what could only be described as dread and fear.

"Kathy…look…yeah, yeah…Kathy…okay…give me twenty minutes."

Slowly closing the phone, he held it in his hand that fell to his side. He looked everywhere except at Olivia. He seemed to shrink before her eyes. When his gaze found hers again, he sighed heavily, and scrubbed his free hand over his face.

"El?" She put a hand on his arm. "What is it? What's wrong?" Her own panic was getting the best of her.

"Kathy knows about the rape and the pending charges against me."

It took Olivia a minute to process not only what he was saying but what he wasn't saying. She had to figure out the underlying message in his tone and demeanor. Surely he had told her about all this. Hadn't he? She looked at him. No. He had not told Kathy. And if he had not told Kathy, but now she knew…someone had leaked the information. If this got out, Cragen would have to arrest Elliot long before the forty-eight hours was up.

Even if he were completely vindicated later, this could essentially be the end of Detective Elliot Stabler's career.

Someone _wanted_ him arrested. Someone _wanted_ to ruin his life. Who? And why?

~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeoeo ~ ~ ~


	8. Unauthorized

**All right...I need to apologize...I have gotten SO slack about letting you guys know how much I appreciate that you are such faithful readers. Some of you have been with me from the beginning and I have to say it just makes my heart feel like it will burst. Thank you and thank for all the kind comments and reviews. You guys are all such awesome folks. Okay...time for a group hug... {{{{Bensler+Awesome Readers}}}} I love all of you!! " ) Bensler**

**Chapter 8 ~ Unauthorized**

**Kathy Stabler Residence - Sunday, September 27 – 9:09 p.m.**

It had taken Elliot nearly an hour to get Kathy calmed down. She had been hysterical on the phone and came completely apart when she actually saw him. That she was worried rather than mad puzzled him. At first, he thought she was upset because she believed the accusations, and that bothered him deeply. In fact, she was angry that someone would accuse him, angry that he had not told her, and terrified that someone was so adamant about ruining his career, his life, that they might even go so far as to kill him if he were not sent to prison.

He explained everything that had happened as well as the likelihood that he _would_ be formally charged and arrested. He also assured her that if he _were_ arrested his colleagues would not give up until they were able to find the evidence to clear him. He hated telling her all this, but knew it was necessary, especially, now that someone had told her because it was unlikely that she would be the only one they would inform.

He was staring at the slip of paper in his hand that had the phone number that had called Kathy. It turned out to be from a disposable cell with no way to trace it. 917-555-4685. "Was it a man or woman that called?"

"I'm not positive…but I think it was a man trying to sound like a woman."

"Are you sure?"

"No! I'm not sure of anything! I don't understand why you didn't let me know about this, Elliot." She raked both hands through her blonde hair, now cut much shorter than she normally wore it, though it would still be considered long.

Elliot looked away, shaking his head. "I didn't think it would come to this…I thought we'd figure it out, catch the real rapist and that would be that. Besides, Tuesday the divorce is final and I won't be _any_ of your concern."

"How can you say that?" Her voice was loud and demanding.

He looked up at her and saw the disbelief that settled in her eyes. He shrugged. "I didn't think you'd care."

"El, you're the father of my children; we've been together over half our lives; I'll always care about what happens to you. Always." She placed her hand over his forearm, and out of habit traced the Marine tattoo.

Watching her slender fingers trail over his arm, he wondered what she was doing. He jerked his arm away and sat up straighter.

Her eyes shot up to his and a deep scarlet blush filled her face. "Sorry…didn't mean anything by it."

"It's okay." He nodded. "You're right, Kath. I should have let you know."

"What about the kids?"

The look on his face told her he had not even thought about them.

"They have to know before they hear it on the news or read it in the paper."

"Yeah..." He looked at his watch. "Guess it's not too late to call the girls. I'll go upstairs to get Dickie and Lizzie."

He brought the twins down to the kitchen to be part of the conversation when he put Maureen and Kathleen on a conference speaker call with him and Kathy. They were all upset and concerned, but he assured them that everything would work out and they seemed to believe him. He just wished he believed what he said.

He was almost back to his place when his cell phone rang. "Stabler."

"Elliot, you need to come to the house." Munch's voice was serious. In the background Elliot could make out loud voices.

"What's going on?" He had been told to go home and rest yet now he was being summoned back to the precinct.

"Just come."

**SVU Sqauad Room - Sunday, September 27 – 10:08 p.m.**

Even before the elevator doors opened, Elliot could hear the hollering. It had been nearly ten minutes since Munch called and he could not believe that whatever had been going on was _still _going on. Suddenly he sneezed, reached for a tissue from the package he now kept in his front pocket, he sneezed two more times and blew his nose. The doors slid open and he chucked the tissue in the trashcan between the two elevator bays. He was sick of this cold.

"I don't care what you think! A woman says stop, you stop!" Fin yelled at Nate. Munch was standing in front of Fin, his arms wrapped around him holding him back.

"What, the woman has no responsibility? She's a big tease and then just expects a guy to…"

"A tease?"

At that Fin broke loose and was on top of Nate Kendal before Munch realized he had twisted from his hold. His fist crashing into Nate's jaw sent him sprawling across a desk, papers and files, framed photos and a ceramic coffee mug crashing in a loud clatter of broken glass. Fin jerked Nate up by the collar and hit him two more times before Cragen and Munch pulled him off. Olivia stood there shell-shocked, wide-eyed and slack jawed.

Elliot shot Olivia a questioning glance then quickly joined in the fracas. He wanted to place his own fist in Kendal's face but restrained himself because he was already in enough trouble.

Once Fin and Nate were separated, Cragen got in Kendal's face. "I don't know who you think you are, but I want you out of my squad room. _Now_. Before I throw a punch myself. When I sort all of this out, I'll deal with you." Cragen was barely holding onto his temper as he ground out the words, his voice a low growl.

Nate was smart enough not to argue with the captain. When he was gone, Cragen looked at the crew in disbelief. The look on his face was just short of unbridled rage, and disgust. "Someone mind telling me what has happened to this unit? I've got Munch and Benson making an unauthorized visit to the vic, questioning her after I specifically ordered them not to; Fin and Nate beating the heck out of each other, not to mention the round between Kendal and Stabler; I've got a detective accused of rape, but now I'm told he has an alibi because he was at Benson's apartment the whole night of the alleged rape, yet no one thought that was worthy enough to share even in light of such grim accusations. Then I find out a date drugged and may have taken liberties with one of my detectives against her will; and to top it off I don't know the first thing about what is going on! Someone please fill me in!"

The silence was loud and none of them dared to even breathe. Cragen turned to Fin and asked, "What's your problem with Kendal?"

"Didn't know for sure…just knew I ain't got no use for 'im. Then I found out what he thinks of women…well…that's all I need to know that I got a real problem with 'im." Fin's eyes were dark and angry as he met Cragen's stare.

"Captain, I know Olivia and I…" Munch started but Cragen stopped him.

"When I want your input, I'll ask." Cragen glared at the older man.

Olivia tried her hand at explaining. "I insisted we talk to her. And she said something that…" She too was cut off.

"I don't recall asking you to speak either, Benson," Cragen barked.

Already embarrassed because her co-workers now knew about the date rape drug…even though they didn't know it was Nate, the blush on her face deepened at this public reprimand.

Elliot could not bear to see this and reflexively jumped to her defense.

"You should at least hear her out," he said quietly yet with a firmness that Cragen did not miss, his eyes never wavering from the captain's hard gaze.

Captain Cragen took a few steps to eliminate the distance between him and Elliot. "Did I miss your promotion, _Captain_ Stabler?" he asked sarcastically.

Frustrated, Elliot snorted, shook his head and sat down at his desk, his hands steepled over his waist.

Silence fell over the group as they exchanged guarded looks. Cragen sighed heavily, shook his head and then looked each detective in the eye before speaking again.

"Okay…okay. It's not the first time any of you have gone against my orders or police procedure. I suppose I could at least hear you out."

Elliot looked up at Olivia as she glanced at him and then Munch.

"Olivia?" The captain nodded at her.

Swallowing hard, she looked her boss in the eye. "She said she could describe her attacker the second time because the bathroom light was on. From the placement of the bed she could _not_ have seen her attacker's face."

"Unless she saw him as he came toward her," Cragen pointed out.

"According to her statement, she was attacked from behind and saw him as he flipped her over on the bed. The light would have been behind him creating a silhouette. She did _not_ see his face," Munch added.

"Elliot did not do this, Captain." Olivia did her best not to let her eyes flit to Elliot, but at the last minute she failed.

Cragen looked from her to Elliot and took a deep breath. "I've never thought he did."

"Alex will be able to shred that allegation with no problem." Fin leaned against a file cabinet reading over the statement they had gotten after the second rape.

"But what's she going to about Elliot's DNA and fingerprint at the scene?" Cragen asked as he looked around at each one of them once again.

All eyes slowly turned toward Elliot. He met each look before his eyes fell away and he slowly shook his head.

"We have until four o'clock Tuesday afternoon to come up with something. Let's call it a night. Get some rest. Be here by six. Except you, Elliot. Take tomorrow off."

"Captain…" he protested.

"I'll make sure you are kept abreast of anything significant." The tone of Cragen's voice meant there was to be no argument.

"Captain, we should work this straight through," Olivia countered.

"No. We're all exhausted, on edge, nerves frayed. A few hours sleep will help us to refocus." He looked around at them. "Six o'clock. Not a second later."

As Munch, Fin and Cragen headed out Elliot hung back to talk to Olivia as she fiddled with the combination on her locker.

Elliot walked over to her. "I'll wait and walk you out."

Glancing up at him, she nodded. "How'd it go with Kathy?"

Elliot leaned his right shoulder against the bank of lockers and sighed. "Not very good at first. Finally got her settled. We told the kids."

Olivia's eyes met his again. She had not even thought about the kids finding about all of this. "How'd that go?"

"They're upset, but they'll be okay." He made light of it because he did not want to discuss it at length because it bothered him that his kids had to know.

She nodded again, shut the locker and snapped the lock closed.

He sneezed twice, pulling a tissue from his pocket to wipe at his nose.

"Your cold any better?"

"Seems to be tapering off some," he sniffled and tossed the tissue in the trashcan beside her desk.

Elliot watched her go to her desk and pick up her car keys.

"What all was said before I got here?" Elliot moved to partially sit on her desk as she stood beside it.

"What do you mean?

He scoffed at the question. "Apparently, everyone knows I stayed at your place, and about the drug. Exactly how much do they know?"

Olivia stared at him for a long moment before flopping into her chair and putting her head in her hands as she propped her elbows on the desktop.

"I told Cragen that you were at my place the night of the second rape. All night."

Elliot took a minute to digest what she had just told him. After her insistence that no one know what happened between her and Nate, he was surprised that she told Cragen about him staying the night.

"What'd he say?"

"He kept asking me if you were there the whole night. I kept telling him you were."

Running his hands over his head and down to scrub his face, he released a loud sigh. "You tell him why?"

Shaking her head, she looked up at him.

"No?" Elliot frowned. "But he seemed to know about Nate…"

"No…he knows about the Rohypnol…he doesn't know it was Nate."

"Then why was Fin going at him?"

"Fin and Munch are suspicious…and they don't like Nate. Somehow Fin and Nate got into a discussion about women claiming rape just to get back at a man…Fin didn't like what he had to say and that's when you came in."

Elliot nodded. "Okay…I guess I can see that. But how did Cragen find out about you being drugged?"

Olivia rubbed her forehead, her eyes closed. "Those tests I had Melinda run…she gave me the report on them…and I…uh…I accidently stapled them to the back of my DD5 for the questioning Munch and I did."

Elliot's head jerked to look at her. "What the tests say?"

She looked at him, knowing he was going to be upset by the results. "The results on the mint were inconclusive, but the wine was laced with Rohypnol."

"Wine? What wine?"

A few seconds passed before she answered. "The wine Kendal offered me last night."

"What?" Elliot rocketed off of the desk and did complete circle, his voice a guttural roar.

She turned the chair to face him. "I didn't _drink_ it, Elliot."

"Then how…"

"When I refused it, he took it from me and spilled some on my tee shirt. Melinda tested the stains."

"And that's the report you accidently gave Cragen?"

"Yeah…pretty stupid of me, huh?" Tears welled in her eyes and she brushed them away. "He demanded to know why I had unauthorized testing done. I told him it was blind date. I had to tell him _something_."

His demeanor softening, he pulled her from the chair and held her close. "Liv, we're all under a lot of stress. Maybe it was best that he know about it. He's going to go postal when he finds out it was Kendal."

Nodding her agreement against his chest, she thought that no matter how much she loved the feel of his arms around her, they did not do this. They _could_ not do this. He was still married and anyone could walk in and see them. And if the NYPD grapevine wasn't already enough abuzz with rumors about Benson and Stabler this would give it fodder much closer to the truth. She slowly pulled away and leaned on her desk.

"El, I don't care what kind of 'evidence'," she drew quotes in the air, "they say they found, I know you did not rape her."

He smiled at her. This was what he needed. Cragen could say it, Fin and Munch and even Kathy could say it. But this was what he needed. Reassurance that Olivia, his best friend, his partner, the woman he loved, knew he did not commit this heinous crime. "Thanks, but it's really not going to matter what you think if we don't find something that gives us the real perp."

"El, I don't have anything to go on except my gut, but I feel like Kendal has something to do with the rapes."

Elliot just stared at her, a deep frown creasing his forehead. Even as much as he detested Nate Kendal, he did not see him being the perpetrator. "Olivia…that would be crazy. He's got way too much to lose."

Olivia stared back. "Maybe. But we need to figure this out before Tuesday afternoon. And before he strikes again."

**Parking Garage – 16****th**** Precinct – Sunday, September 27 - 10 :45 p.m.**

Fin and Munch stood at the back of Fin's car. "You believe that jerk trying to say Olivia was a tease?" Fin asked.

"Olivia?"

"Yeah…you didn't see 'em after you and cap'n left the other night. They were pretty chatty and cozy."

"He didn't _say_ anything about Olivia…"

"Don't matter…ain't you seen how he looks at her?" Fin shook his head. "Can't b'lieve Elliot ain't already killed 'im just for lookin'."

"Now that you mention it…I have noticed. And after you and Kendal left the other day, I came in on Elliot and Olivia arguing…" Munch trailed off as he remembered what he heard that day.

"So? They _always_ arguing." Fin stared at Munch like he was crazy.

"No…I mean…they were arguing about Kendal. About Olivia taking him home and something about did she want him to pick up where he had left off the night before. Elliot was furious. I don't think I've seen him that mad at her since Gitano. The night _before_…"

Fin and Munch looked at each other, a new realization hitting both at the same time.

"Friday night." They said in unison.

"Somethin' bad must have happened between 'Livia and Kendal Friday night." This was beginning to make a lot more sense to Fin. "And Stabler found out."

"That's why he and Elliot were all beat up Saturday morning." Munch ran his hand over his chin, deep in thought.

Remembering the bruises on Olivia's wrists, Fin agreed. "Yeah…and 'Livia, too."

"Olivia, too?"

"Yeah…noticed some bruises on her wrists…like someone had held her and she struggled to get loose…" The wheels in Fin's mind were turning quickly.

"Against her will…"

"Asked Elliot 'bout 'em…told me to ask her."

"If something happened Friday night and then she was with Kendal again Saturday night…what Elliot said to her would make sense…" Munch did not like the conclusion he was drawing.

"Kendal the one that gave her the date rape drug! Son of…" Fin slammed his right fist into his left palm.

"And somehow Elliot found out," Munch added. "I asked Olivia if he hurt her. She said 'no', but she answered way too quickly. _Something_ happened."

"I'll kill 'im!"

"There's going to be a long line, my friend."

**Powell Residence – Monday, September 28 – 3:17 a.m.**

Debbie Powell awoke with a start, her heart racing. Her husband grunted and tossed beside her but did not wake up. Screaming. Piercing screams had awakened her. Throwing the covers aside, she jumped from her bed and ran down the hall to the room in which her sister was sleeping. She was on her knees in the middle of the bed, covers piled on the floor, hands balled into fists fighting an invisible enemy.

"Honey, shh…shh…it's okay." Softly holding her wrists, she pulled her into a hug.

"Don't let him hurt me again! Please! Oh, please, help me!"

"There's no one's here."

"Yes! He was here! He…he tried to…to r-r-rape me again…" The words drowned in a stream of tears.

"Shh…shh...he's not here…you were having a nightmare, sweetie."

"No…it was…was real…he was _here_…he told me he would k-kill me if I didn't do what he said…" her voice was high pitched, nearly hysterical.

"No, no, no, it was just a dream." Debbie stroked her hair, dampened with perspiration. "You're safe, honey."

At last, the younger woman looked into her sister's eyes, then around the room and saw that they were alone. "I c-can't do this. I-I just…I can't."

Collapsing into her sister's arms, a new wave of sobs wracking her body, she _knew_ she could not do this. She pulled her nightgown closer around her body and it was then that Debbie noticed the strap was ripped from the bodice.

Terror seized her heart. And...

Seconds later her eyes fell upon the curtain flapping in the breeze from the opened window.

~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeoeo ~ ~ ~


	9. Unhinged

**Chapter 9 ~ Unhinged**

**SVU Sqauad Room - Monday, September 28 – 10:27 a.m.**

Olivia discreetly surveyed the squad room. No one would have ever suspected there had almost been a free for all here last night. There was no sign that Nate Kendal's body had slid across the desk courtesy of Fin's right hook. The papers that scattered on the floor were picked up and put back in the proper file folders; the broken glass of the mug and picture frames swept, the glassless frames placed back on the desk. It seemed like any other morning in the one-six. Fin was on the phone talking quietly; Munch was writing something while looking back and forth at the computer monitor. An officer from One Police Plaza, whom she did not know, was in Cragen's office, the door closed. Elliot was on mandatory leave, and Kendal had not come in. She wondered if that was the reason for Cragen's visitor. No. Deep in her heart she knew it was about Elliot and his impending arrest.

Turning her watch around on her wrist, she checked the time. Ten twenty-seven. They had twenty nine hours and thirty-three minutes to find the real rapist. Find him or Elliot would be on his way to central booking. Just as she thought this Fin hung up the phone and motioned to Munch. He turned so he was facing away from Olivia, piquing her curiosity and interest. As she wondered why he seemed so secretive, Kendal entered the squad room. She noticed Munch's eyes locked onto him and seconds later Fin twisted in his seat to do the same. Now she knew she would have to find out what was going on because apparently they were both very interested in Kendal. And very ticked off.

She, too, watched as Kendal took off his jacket and then seated himself at Lake's old desk. When he glanced up at her, Olivia looked away. Kendal did not speak and she certainly was not going to start a conversation. Instead, she made herself concentrate on the DNA analysis in front of her. There was no way Elliot did this. No way. Yet, there is it was…the STR loci were identical on the samples taken from the second crime scene and from Elliot. She held the two slides toward the light for further scrutiny. It did not matter how many times she looked at them, it was not going to change the outcome. She laid them down and sighed. Her head began to pound, and she massaged her temples.

"No luck?" Nate asked from her left.

Shaking her head, she threw him a quick glance. "Not yet."

She was determined not to let him see how defeated she felt. Even though the weariness tugged at her bones, she sat up straighter and pulled the files closer as she focused on them once again. Her desk phone rang.

"Special Victims Unit. Detective Benson." She answered without taking her eyes from the reports on her desk, her voice professionally clipped, properly enunciating each word.

"How's it going?" The familiar voice rumbled in her ear caused her stomach do a major flip-flop.

Her voice softened as she replied to his question. "Hey. Nothing new…just going over the DNA reports again."

"That good, huh?" He sounded as defeated as she felt.

"We're gonna find him, Elliot. I promise you, we're going to find him and when we do, I'll..."

"You'll read him his rights, arrest him and let the system take care of him. That's what you'll do, Olivia."

He knew that she would want to do the same thing he would want to do if she were the one being accused. He knew she would want to beat the guy to within an inch of his life. That wasn't her mode of operation at all, but when it came to him, it would be. _Because_ of him. _Because_ of the bond they had, the feelings that lived just below the surface of their denials and feigned indifference. _Because_ she was his partner and lies rolled easily off her tongue to cover for him, her finger pulled the trigger to protect him, and she would lay down her life to save him. Just as he would for her.

A long pause ensued, before she released a heavy breath and agreed with him, "Yeah." She sighed again then changed the subject. "Was going to call you a little later…thought we could grab lunch, or I can bring something by if you want."

"Sounds good. I'll meet you…take less time from your break."

"Okay…around noon?"

"Yeah…Moretti's?"

"Can't remember the last time I ate Italian."

"Listen…is there anything you can bring me that I can work on from home? I'm going nuts, Liv. And this _is_ about me, you know."

She thought for a long minute and then her eyes landed on the thick envelope in her in basket. "Yeah. I think I have just the thing. See you soon."

As she hung up the phone, Cragen's door opened and he and his visitor stepped out. "Thanks for coming by, Jim."

"Not a problem, Don. Good to see you again."

"You, too. Let's catch lunch next week."

Kendal seemed surprised at the visitor who nodded at him as he left. Kendal stared at his retreating figure as Cragen walked up to check on his crew. "Anything new?"

Fin grunted and Munch shook his head. "Olivia?"

She tapped the reports in her hand and shook her head. "No. But I'm still looking."

The captain turned his eyes to Kendal knowing he was curious about the visitor. "You got a minute, Kendal?"

"Sure."

They headed to the Captain's office amidst very curious looks between the three remaining detectives just as the phone rang on Fin's desk.

"Special Victim's Unit. Detective Tutuola." Seconds later Fin was snapping his fingers and waving to get the others' attention.

All eyes turned toward him curious, concerned. "Okay…yeah…when did this happen?" He wrote on the pad in front of him. "Why didn't you call then?" He looked up at the captain and the rest of the crew, a frown swallowing his face. "No, I'm not blaming you…okay…all right…we'll be there as soon as we can."

"That was Debbie Powell. Her sister woke up screaming last night…Debbie thought it was a nightmare but her sister insisted the rapist had come back…this time he threatened to kill her. Debbie saw the window open but nothing seemed out of order so they went back to bed. Then this morning she went back into the room and saw a tissue lying between the bed and the window and the screen was removed. She decided maybe she should call us."

"Maybe? This guy is becoming more unstable with each act," Munch observed as he pushed his glasses up on his nose.

"Yeah…and we need to find him before he becomes totally unhinged." Cragen looked at Fin, Munch, Kendal, Olivia and then to Fin again. "You and Munch get over there. Olivia stay on the DNA reports. Kendal…" Cragen headed toward his office, Kendal trailing right behind.

**Office of Captain Cragen – Monday, September 28 – 10: 52 a.m.**

Captain Cragen took his seat behind his desk, motioning for Kendal to sit as well. He stared at the younger man long and hard enough to make him shift nervously in his chair.

"I'm guessing you're wondering what Jim Layfield was doing here." Cragen's eyes never left Nate.

"Uh…yes, sir. It crossed my mind."

"Says you're a good cop. Said you had personal reasons for joining the force after the service. Care to share what they are?"

"They wouldn't be personal then, would they captain? Besides, don't we all have our reasons for doing what we do?"

Cragen was no fool and he knew that Kendal was not going to be any more forthcoming with him than he had been with Jim Layfield who had been his first commanding officer on the force.

Cragen stood and came around to the front of his desk. Folding his arms across his chest, he nodded, his eyes narrowed and he spoke with a low, menacing voice. "I don't know why you are here, but just know this…I've got my eye on you, Kendal. You make a wrong move and I'll be in your face before you know what hit you."

Frowning, Kendal leaned forward in the chair, "Captain, did you just threaten me?"

Cragen smiled, stood up and placed his right hand on Kendal's right shoulder. "No, son. I don't make threats."

He opened the door and stared at Kendal who silently got up and left.

**Benson Residence - Monday, September 28 – 10:46 p.m.**

Another long day and still nothing. Fin & Munch were convinced that someone had broken into the Powell residence but whether or not it was their illusive perp remained to be seen. CSU dusted for prints, took the tissue and a few other things that could be evidence but it would be morning before they would know the results even though Cragen put a rush on them. Fin, Munch & Olivia wanted to stay the night, but Cragen insisted they get a few hours of sleep. Yes, they used to pull all nighters but they were all older now and he saw how the lack of sleep affected their ability to concentrate, so he figured taking time for some rest would only help.

On her walk home, Olivia was caught up in thinking about all of this and was startled to see her date whom she forgot about sitting on the stoop of her building when she arrived home. "Scott? What are you doing here?"

"Uh…Monday…8:00…dinner?"

"Oh, no! I am so sorry. I completely forgot!" She kissed him on the cheek as he stood. "We've got a case that…"

"I know. It's okay. Really." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

She ended the kiss and smiled. "Surely you haven't been sitting here all this time?"

"Nah…when I couldn't get you on the cell, I had a couple of drinks with a buddy and watched the game." He picked up his small duffle bag and threw it over his left shoulder, the picked up the case with his laptop with his left hand.

Olivia keyed the entry numbers and held the door for him. They made their way up to her floor and turning the key in the lock, she opened the door. "Well, come on in. Tell me what's been going on."

Olivia had dated Scott Bauer on and off for about five months. It was more off than on because he was an assistant U. S. Attorney in Washington DC. They had met on an NYPD case six months ago when a DC man was arrested in NYC meeting an underage girl he had solicited online for sex. Elliot and Olivia had arrested him but not before he took the girl to a hotel room. Scott was now in town for a conference and they had made plans for dinner Monday evening.

He told her about his latest case and caught her up on the last month of his life. She, in turn, told him about the rape case and One PP's involvement. She did not, however, tell him about Elliot being framed.

Scott was late forties, very trim though not what she would call muscular, at least not compared to Elliot. He was about the same height as Elliot though probably twenty pounds or so lighter. His eyes were as piercing as Elliot's but green instead of blue. He wore his dark curly hair that was beginning to gray at the temples, long, just below his collar, and a bit scruffy. Coupled with the mustache and goatee he had, he made a very attractive figure.

Somehow he had taken to staying at Olivia's when he was in town. And somehow she had let him. She liked Scott. More than a little. She enjoyed his company and they liked a lot of the same things. Not to mention there was no history to weigh them down. And he seemed content to see her when it worked out, was never angry when it didn't and he never pushed for a more of a relationship. Maybe that was really why she liked him.

After talking for about thirty minutes, she told Scott, "Listen, I have to be back at the precinct at six and I'm really tired. I need some sleep."

"Yeah, okay. Mind if I get a quick shower before you hit the sack?" Scott asked, not wanting to keep her awake since the only way to the bathroom was through her bedroom.

"As long as you make it _really_ quick." She elbowed him playfully. "I'll make up the couch for you."

**Stabler Residence - Monday, September 28 – 10:45 p.m.**

Elliot's eyes were bleary and burned. He had gone over and over the phone numbers until they swam before him, jumbling into a mass of meaningless black spots on the white paper.

Olivia had brought the LUDs from the victim's home and cell phones to Moretti's to give him something to do to help with the case even though he had been placed on leave.

Rubbing his eyes then stretching his arms over his head, he stood to go to the kitchen for something to drink. He reached for a hot soda in the box on the counter and mentally cursed himself for not putting them into the frig. Pulling a glass from the cabinet, he filled it with ice, popped the top on the can watched the dark liquid flow over the cubes, foaming and threatening to overflow. As he waited for the foam to settle so he could pour more into the glass, he noticed the contents from the pocket of the jeans he'd had on last night.

Lying on the kitchen counter was a pack of gum, a paperclip, a crumpled five-dollar bill, two pennies, a quarter and a bright, lime green, post-it note with a phone number on it. 917-555-4685 - the phone number he had written down at Kathy's last night. He stared at it blankly and then at the retreating foam in his glass. He poured more soda. 917-555-4685. What? No way! Setting the can down, he snatched the piece of paper from the counter and sprinted to the living room. Scanning the LUDs he could not believe it. There on pages ten, twelve and sixteen were calls from that number! He didn't know what it meant, but he knew it was important! He had to show Olivia!

**Benson Residence - Monday, September 28 – 11:27 p.m.**

Looking at his watch one more time, Elliot decided it really was not that late so he rapped his hand upon the wooded door. He should have called. He would have but in his haste he forgot his cell phone and decided it would take too much extra time to go back for it. He could hear her rustling around and was about to knock again when the door opened.

"Elliot. What are you doing here?" Olivia asked as she looked over her shoulder toward her bedroom. She was barefoot, dressed in faded red shorts, a tie-dyed tank top and her makeup was gone.

"Found something you need to see on the LUDs." He smiled and then froze at the sight of a man coming out of her bedroom with a towel wrapped around his midsection. His dark hair glistened with dampness as he strode across the hall and into the entrance way as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Sorry…don't mean to interrupt. I…uh…forgot my bag." One hand holding the towel around his waist, he leaned down and picked up the black duffle bag with the other.

Olivia cringed at the look on Elliot's face and wondered what to do. Sucking in a deep breath, she smiled. How she did so she had no clue, but she did. "Elliot, you remember Scott Bauer, from the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office?"

No. He was too shocked to remember his _own_ name, let alone a man he had met briefly six months ago. As the man looked him in the eye, suddenly the memories came tumbling back. Yes. How could he forget him? Bauer had an eye problem. He could not take his eyes off of Olivia and every question he asked he directed toward her. It had irked Elliot then, but now…this was far worse than staring at her.

"Scott, my partner, Elliot…"

"Stabler. How are you?" Scott slung the bag onto his shoulder and extended his hand, still holding onto the towel with his other hand.

Somehow, Elliot managed to shake his hand. "Bauer." He nodded then shot a look at Olivia.

There was an extremely awkward moment of silence as Olivia and Elliot stared at each other and Scott looked from one to the other and back again. Realizing something else was at play here that did not include him he decided to remove himself from the equation.

"Uh…I...uh…I'm going to get dressed now." He nodded toward the bedroom and headed that way.

Neither Olivia nor Elliot acknowledged him and she did her best to ignore the visitor. Instead she looked up at Elliot and motioned him inside. "What do you got?"

Elliot was still staring at the doorway to Olivia's bedroom when her voice broke into his thoughts.

"The…uh…the number that…uh…called Kathy…it's in the LUDs." He held out the report and pointed to the first line that held the number.

Looking at him in disbelief, Olivia took the report from him to see for herself. There it was on page ten. 917-555-4685. Shaking her head, she looked up at him. "I don't believe this."

"Yeah. There's a leak somewhere in the department." He offered his explanation.

"Leak? No. The same person who's trying to frame you is trying to scare the victim and Kathy, too."

"What good would scaring Kathy do? Frame me? How can you say that? Whoever it was told Kathy about the impending arrest…they have to be an insider. And we don't even know what was said to the vic."

"Whoever it was, is trying to create fear, get us…get _you_ off track. Guess we need to ask the victim if she's been getting threatening calls, too."

"And if she refuses to come clean, we have no way of finding out cause it's a disposable cell."

"Well, we won't know if she will or won't unless we ask her." She looked at the clock above the kitchen table. Almost midnight.

Elliot saw her and said, "Too late to do anything tonight."

She nodded her head.

"Well, guess I'll talk to you tomorrow…let me know what happens, huh?" He was reluctant to leave but knew he had no choice.

"El…we're going to figure this out."

He scoffed and nodded his head. "Right…and all in just under sixteen hours."

He opened the door to leave and as he stepped out, Olivia caught his arm, pulling him closer to her. "Elliot, this is not at all what it looks like…"

"Doesn't really matter what it looks like. The chances of finding the real perp are…"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm talking about Scott."

Elliot's eyes met hers and then went to the crack in the door where he could see Bauer come from her bedroom and head for the living room. He had on sweat pants and a tee shirt. Elliot's blood pressure shot up, but he knew he had no right to say anything. Or for that matter feel like he did. Besides he had bigger things to worry about right now. Like his innocence, his freedom, his life.

Olivia looked through the slightly open door to her apartment and pulled it closed. "Elliot…he's a friend…I…we sort of …"

"You don't owe me an explanation. You're a single woman, free to date whoever you want…it's of no concern of mine."

Her eyes narrowed as a look that Elliot could only name as hurt quickly replaced by anger filled her features. "No concern? You…you said…you acted like…I-I thought you…that we…" she stammered, confusion clogging her brain. She knew he was upset about Scott and yet he was acting like it was no big deal. Okay. She drew a deep breath. "You're right. It is no concern of yours. Good night, Elliot."

As she turned to go inside, Elliot grabbed her by the arm and jerked her to him. "What you want from me, Olivia?" he hissed. "You want me to beat the heck out of him? You want me to tell you not see him? Or Kendal? Or whoever else you bring home? Tell me what you want because I don't have a clue!"

Just as quickly as he had grabbed her, he released her, did an about face and was stomping down the stairs before she was able to realize what had just happened.

**Stabler Residence - Tuesday, September 29 – 1:34 a.m.**

There was absolutely no reason to be lying here in bed because there was absolutely no way he was going to sleep. Between worrying about being arrested and going to prison and whether or not the real rapist would be found in time and Scott Bauer spending the night at Olivia's, he knew there would be no sleep. When he thought about it rationally, he had to laugh at himself. Why was he wasting time thinking about Olivia when it was nothing but an exercise in futility? Once he was sent to jail for rape he would definitely have no say in who she had in her life.

He needed to do something or he was going to totally become unstable. Laughing aloud, he thought of all the times someone in the department had referred to him as the 'unStabler'. For the most part he brushed it off as he did any number of other insults and rumors. But now, now he had to admit there may just be something to it this time. He was on the brink of losing everything he had ever worked for: his career, his family, his reputation, his freedom, his partner…he thought he might could possibly survive losing everything if only he still had her. Olivia. Who wouldn't be 'unstable' when faced with the possibility of losing all?

Twisting around, he reached for his cell phone and looked at the time again for what felt like the millionth time. One-forty a.m. Fourteen hours and twenty minutes before his would be handcuffed, read his rights and taken to central booking. He could barely breathe. His heart was banging at his chest like a jackhammer. He jumped up from the bed, suddenly clutching his chest, wondering was he having a heart attack…it hurt bad enough that he considered going to the ER. Taking several slow, deep breaths he was able to calm down. He decided a drink or two would be just as good if not better than the ER.

**SVU Squad Room - Tuesday, September 29 – 5:42 a.m.**

Cragen, unable to sleep well, was just arriving. As he walked by Fin's desk the phone rang and he picked up the receiver and answered. "Special Victims' Unit." This is…"

"Fin, my man. Listen, bro…finally got da word you was lookin' for. Yo' man, Kendal…dirtier than dirt, man. Lil' Ching say he a regular for roofies…'bout every two weeks. Guess he ain't got what the ladies want, huh?" There is mocking laughter and Cragen's hand clenches the receiver so hard, he is sure it will crack. "Word is he the big man to mo' of New York's finest." The laughter trills again. "Now you da one who owe me, man."

"Yeah…I owe you, man. Thanks." Cragen said gruffly and hung up the phone.

Finding it nearly impossible to catch his breath and steady his racing heart, he could not recall the last time he had felt such utter, uncontrollable rage. That Olivia did not tell him about Kendal infuriated him. And Elliot. There was no doubt in his mind that Elliot knew about it. Surely this answered his question as to why he and Kendal had been sporting all those bruises and cuts Saturday morning. He was angry that Fin did not tell him what he apparently suspected. And if Fin was going down this road, then Munch surely knew his partner's suspicions.

Any one of the four should have told him, but they did not. He was also mad at himself because he had sensed something was off about Nate Kendal the minute he laid eyes on him. And yet, he let him into his unit, he put him with Olivia thinking she would be able to handle him better than the men. On an even playing field, she could have. Yet, he had put her in harm's way by partnering her with Kendal. Kendal. It had been a long time since he had thoughts like those crossing his mind right now. He knew if he had half a chance he would beat Nate Kendal half to death.

He was standing by Fin's desk staring at his shaking hands, trying to control his breathing and rapid heartbeat when Kendal walked in.

"Good morning, Captain." He sauntered easily through the squad room.

Cragen did not move. He did not speak. He did not think he was even breathing. Kendal stood at Lake's desk watching the captain.

"You all right, sir?"

Cragen slowly turned, slowly lifted his eyes, leveling them at Kendal. "You drugged my detective…Olivia…with the intent of raping her…and you have the gall to come into my squad room and act like nothing ever happened?"

Kendal opened his mouth to speak but before he could say one word, his open mouth was filled with Donald Cragen's fist. Cragen hit him again before Kendal began to fight back. It did not matter that he was younger, bigger and in better shape. Cragen was operating on pure rage and adrenaline and that gave him more than edge. Blood spurted, bruises appeared and the younger man lost consciousness. Still the captain pummeled him with no intention of stopping. The thought kept running through his head… 'Stop! You're going to kill him! Stop!' But he was now just as unhinged, just as unstable as Kendal and the rapist. And he could _not_ stop.

~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeoe ~ ~ ~


	10. Unfazed

**Many and much thanks to all of you who are still reading this and especially those of you who take time to review/comment. How'd everyone like the season premiere?? You guys are awesome!! **

**" ) Bensler**

**Chapter 10 ~ Unfazed**

**SVU Squad Room - Tuesday, September 29 – 5:47 a.m.**

It was excruciating. Yet he was unfazed by the searing pain that ripped through his hand and shot up his arm as blow after blow came down upon Nate Kendal. Cragen could not stop. He knew he should but it was as though someone…or _something_…had taken control of his body and he was merely a spectator to the damage being inflicted upon the man now lying on the floor. He had totally lost whatever perspective he once had to deal with situations like this. The problem was he had _never_ dealt with a situation quite like this.

This was his fault. He was responsible for partnering Olivia with a man who had every intention of forcing himself on her; a man who had inflicted the bruises Cragen had noticed on her cheeks. It was his fault that Olivia had been placed in danger and very nearly raped. He would never have been able to forgive himself if _that_ had happened…if she had become a victim. He knew she was still having issues because of Sealview. As it were he still may not forgive himself. Beating Kendal was a way to somewhat assuage that guilt and begin to avenge Kendal for his actions.

"Captain!" Fin's voice was mingled with both surprise and terror as he raced across the empty squad room and pulled at Cragen attempting to get him away from Kendal. "Captain! That's enough, man! You gonna kill 'em!"

Munch, two boxes of doughnuts in his hands, was not far behind but was oblivious to what was going on until he took several strides into the room. Chucking the pastries on the nearest desk, he ran to help Fin, just as Cragen's fist rose in the air and swiftly dropped again.

Kendal moaned as Cragen hit him once more. With Munch's help, Fin was at last able to push Cragen off balance and they staggered a couple of steps away from the bloodied and bruised man. Cragen was much stronger and bigger than either of them had ever realized. Munch knelt to check on Nate as Fin maintained his grip on the captain.

Amazingly, Kendal was regaining consciousness. "What happened here?" Munch asked as he looked up at Cragen and Fin.

Cragen was breathing so heavily, Munch feared he was on the brink of a heart attack or something. His tie was askew, his shirt and jacket splattered with flecks of blood. At his side his hands flexed in and out of fists, his hands scraped and bleeding. The look in his eye reflected an untamed ferocity unlike Munch had ever seen in Donald Cragen, and this gaze remained locked on Kendal. Judging by that look alone, Munch truly believed Captain Cragen would have beat the man to death had Fin not intervened when he did.

Slowly releasing Cragen, Fin stayed close to him just in case he decided to pick up where Fin had stopped him. "Cap'n? You gonna be okay?"

Swallowing hard, his eyes still on Kendal, Cragen straightened his tie, nodded just once, then turned and went to his office.

Munch and Fin traded looks and then turned their attention to Kendal who was now stirring. "Think he needs medical attention?" Munch asked.

"He's a big boy. Take him to the locker room. We'll clean him up and see what he got to say about what the heck happened."

Ten minutes later Kendal was sitting on one of the benches holding a dampened cloth to his head with one hand and a bottle of water in the other. Munch sat on his right side asking questions which the younger man ignored. Fin was disgusted with the whole scene and the fact that Kendal refused to say a word.

"I'm gonna talk to Cap'n. Don't let him outta your sight." He left and made his way to Cragen's office, not sure what he was going to say or do when he saw his commanding officer.

**Office of Captain Cragen - Tuesday, September 29 – 6:04 a.m.**

The door to his office was open and Cragen was sitting at his desk, his injured hands spread out flat on the surface before him, a blank stare on his face. Fin had never seen him like this. Never seen him go off on _anyone_ in the eight years he had worked for him. Whatever set this in motion had to have been extraordinarily bad.

Out of respect for his boss, Fin lightly rapped the doorframe. Cragen did not move; his eyes did not shift; and in no way did he acknowledge Fin's presence.

"Cap'n?" Fin slowly entered the room stopping just short of the beginning of the desk. "Cap'n? You okay, sir?" He was not sure what to do. He wondered if Cragen was in shock.

Cragen's eyes fell to his desk. When he spoke, his voice was a quiet monotone, merely a tool with which to deliver information - nothing more, nothing less. "Lil' Ching said Kendal was a regular buyer of roofies."

Fin froze. How'd he know about Lil' Ching? A buddy from Fin's days as a narc agent had done some digging on Kendal as a favor. Apparently, he had turned up some dirt on him and Cragen found out somehow.

"I partnered her with him. He was going to rape her. That's why she had those bruises on her face…" His brow creased and he scoffed. "That's why he and Elliot were beat up…I knew it had to be something. Just thought it was Elliot being Elliot…being jealous. It's my fault…for…for putting her w-with him."

"No, Cap'n. Ain't yo' fault."

Cragen's voice began to shake as he nodded his head. "Yes…yes…my…my f-fault that she…that she…was almost r-ra-raped…m-my fault…" Sobs choked the rest of his words and he slammed his fist down on his desk as his shoulders shook with emotion.

Fin did not know what to do. "Cap'n…the only person at fault here is Kendal."

Just as quickly as he broke, Captain Cragen pulled himself together and cleared his throat. "You're right. Where is he?" He stood up and scrapped his hands over his face wiping away any trace of the short-lived tears that stained his cheeks.

"Locker room." Fin wondered if he planned to finish what he started.

Cragen headed out of the office with Fin right behind.

Olivia had just come in and was very aware that something was off as the two men came toward her without a word, grim looks on their faces. The fact that Cragen looked pretty upset and something was splattered on his shirt and jacket were also dead giveaways to something being out of order.

Concerned, a frown etched her face. "Hey. What's going on?"

As they passed by, Cragen ignored her, but Fin caught her eye and shook his head, an indication for her to be quiet. She hustled to catch up with them.

**SVU Locker Room - Tuesday, September 29 – 6:12 a.m.**

To say she was shocked to see the condition of Nate Kendal was an understatement at best. His lips were split and swollen; his left eye was swollen nearly shut; multiple bruises and cuts were on his chin, cheeks and forehead.

Looking from him to Munch who looked at Fin who then nodded at Cragen, her mouth fell open. _Cragen_? She got the silent message. _Cragen_ had done this. Eyes wide with disbelief, she stared mutely at her captain. Why? What had happened? Then it hit her. Somehow, someway he had found out or figured out that Nate was the one who had given her the date rape drug.

Kendal looked up when he heard them coming in and he gave Olivia a quick glance before standing to face Cragen. Pulling the cloth from his face revealed another cut just to the outside of his right eye that was still bleeding a bit.

Cragen stopped so close to him there was barely enough room for a hand to slide between them, Kendal visibly flinched at the close proximity of the captain. Cragen leaned so that he was face to face like a drill sergeant to a recruit, his voice low and steady.

"You are a disgrace to the NYPD and a pathetic excuse for a man. As soon as I have the evidence I need, I'm coming for you, Kendal. _I'm_ coming for _you_. Until then, I want you out of my squad room and away from my detectives."

The delivery was short and staccato, like a machine gun expelling its ammunition and Kendal cringed at each word as saliva sprayed on his wounded face. When Cragen was finished, Kendal said nothing as he backed away, shot a departing glance at Munch and Fin, but then rested his gaze on Olivia, smirking just as he passed her. No one saw it but her and it sent chills coursing through her.

A heavy, momentary silence engulfed the room before Cragen finally turned to Fin, asking, "Why wasn't I informed about Kendal?"

Fin looked at Munch and Olivia then drew a deep breath. "Wanted to be sure about it first, Cap'n."

Eyes flitting over Fin's dark face, Cragen pursed his lips. "Rarely are we _sure_ about anything in this unit. We throw out possibilities, theories, educated guesses and gut instincts until we find the evidence we _need_ to be sure. _Someone_ should have let me know about Kendal."

Looking at Munch, he said, "Your partner come up with this idea on his own or was it a joint conclusion?"

Munch gave Fin a quick glance, but before he could say anything, Cragen spoke again. "That's what I thought. You chose to keep this on the DL, too."

He then turned to Olivia. "You had reason to believe this man drugged you…and yet, you never said a word…even when you got proof of it, you never said a word." He shook his head. "I thought you trusted me more than that, Olivia."

"Captain…I…" She felt sick to her stomach that Captain Cragen questioned her trust in him.

Holding his hands up to silence her, he slowly looked around at the three detectives. "Apparently, I've failed somewhere along the line. I'll deal with that later. Right now we have a job to do." He looked at his watch. "We have nine hours and forty minutes to prove Elliot is innocent. We _have_ to find the real rapist."

**Stabler Residence - Tuesday, September 29 – 9:28 a.m.**

Calling Olivia had been a mistake. For some reason she was irritated at his call, short with him and basically brushed him off. He felt the anger rising and snapped back at her. Didn't she realize that he had less than eight hours left as a free man? Didn't she care? They argued. They fought. Then she apologized. He told her it was okay. It was anything but okay. She promised they were doing all they knew to do and that somehow something would turn up in time.

He tried to nap, but tossed and turned. Grabbing the remote he flipped through the channels, mindlessly watching a few seconds here and there, nothing really registering. Kathy called and that conversation did not help…especially when he had to tell her they still had nothing. She started crying and that only served to upset him more adding to his stress.

Against his better judgment, he called Olivia again. This time she tried to talk to him nicely but he could tell she was impatient with him.

"Liv…I just need to know you're there…"

"What's that supposed to mean? Of _course_, I'm here!" she snapped then sighed loudly. "Elliot, look, I'm sorry but I don't have time to chit-chat with you. I'm trying to save your sorry butt. And every time you call it takes precious minutes from the investigation. Okay?"

"Yeah…yeah. Okay…sorry." He _did_ understand. But, he also desperately needed to hear her voice, to see her, to touch her. He just _had_ to know she still believed in him.

Sensing his need, her voice softened. "El?"

"Yeah?"

The defeat she heard in that one syllable nearly killed her.

"I...uh…those…LUDs from the vic's cell and home phones?"

"Yeah?" Same word, same one syllable and yet this time it held hopefulness.

"I need to look over those again…"

"Sure…I'll bring them to you…"

"No. I've got to pick up the DNA and forensics reports from CSU on that break in at the Powell's, so I'll just swing by on my way back."

**Streets of Manhattan - Tuesday, September 29 – 9:45 a.m.**

Detective Nate Kendal had gone to a nearby clinic and now sported strips that held cuts together on his face - one at the edge of his right eye, another at the corner of his mouth. Now he was biding his time. He could not believe they found out about his little side drug business. How did they find out he wondered. Didn't matter. Not really. It was almost time. Almost over. All of it. He tipped the paper cup to his mouth, finished the last bit of coffee gone lukewarm and tossed the empty cup into the trash can at the bottom of the stoop. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit up. Taking a deep draw, he pulled it from his lips and stared at it. Six months. Six months since he quit but he had to have something to calm him and alcohol would be too dangerous. And he needed to be alert. Exhaling, he formed three perfect circles of smoke with the movements of his mouth, and watched as they dissipated in the warm, morning air.

From where he sat he could see the all comings and goings of the precinct personnel but no one would pay attention to him. He could wait. Now that he had been released by Cragen, he was free to spend his time doing whatever was necessary to make sure his plan played out just like he had always intended. Elliot Stabler was going to see what it was like to be accused of something he didn't do and then have no way to prove otherwise. No way to repair his sullied reputation. If Kendal had his way, Stabler would spend the rest of his life thinking about what had happened to land him in prison. He chuckled quietly to himself just as a lone figure exited the one-six. He stood, dropped the cigarette, stubbed it out with his foot and quickly fell into the morning crowd to follow her from a discreet distance.

Just as he began to close in on her, a man called her name. "Olivia! Liv! Wait up!"

Who was this? He was tall with long curly hair and wearing a dark suit, white shirt, red tie. An attorney? Banker? Then Kendal caught site of the satchel hanging from the man's shoulder. It had a familiar logo on it. Actually, a seal of some sort. When he got a bit closer he saw that it was the Department of Justice seal. An assistant U.S. Attorney. Well, wasn't this just great? He backed off because Olivia had stopped walking to talk to the man. After several minutes the man turned, hailed a cab and then he held the door while she got in and then he slid into the seat next to her.

Kendal cursed then made his way back to stoop across from the precinct. He checked his watch and smiled. Only six more hours and fifteen minutes. He could wait. After all he had already waited just three months shy of seven years.

**Crime Scene Unit – September 28 – 10:15 a.m.**

Scott was coming from a nearby law office when he spotted Olivia and offered to give her ride when he found out they were heading for the same place. He was meeting a detective at One Police Plaza. Upon arriving they went their separate ways.

"Hey. What you got for me?" Olivia asked the CSU tech looking at a slide through a microscope.

He exchanged glances with Dr. Melinda Warner who had been helping out in CSU and was out of sight from Olivia. She stepped around the corner and addressed her friend. "Olivia. Captain Cragen send you?"

"Oh, hey, Mel. Didn't see you. Yeah, he sent me. Please tell me you have something that will help us."

"Olivia…" Melinda said softly. The look in her eye devastated Olivia more than any words ever could.

She began to shake her head. "No…no. Please…" Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked them back determined not to cry in front of the CSU technician.

Melinda pulled a folder from the nearby desk and handed it to Olivia. Their eyes locked for several tense seconds before Olivia opened the folder and began to read. This time there was no stopping the tears that burned her eyelids and one fell onto the page causing the paper to crinkle from its moisture.

"I'm sorry, Olivia." Melinda felt so sorry for her, but there was really nothing she could do or say. The DNA from the tissue found at the Powell residence belonged to Elliot.

Olivia stared at the report. It was not true. No matter what this report said, no matter what all those tests appeared to prove, she could not, would not believe that Elliot had done this horrible deed. It was not in him. And she knew him better than she knew herself. He did not do this.

Melinda liked Elliot, considered him a friend, but she could not argue with science. The evidence overwhelmingly pointed to him as the perpetrator. She hated it, but she had to believe results of all the testing. She knew the bond between Olivia and Elliot and how hard this was for Olivia to accept, so she did not push the issue. Instead, she quietly placed her hand on Olivia's left shoulder, gently squeezing it.

Eyes meeting Melinda's, Olivia shrugged her shoulder displacing Melinda's hand and held up the folder. "I don't care what this says, it's wrong. Elliot is _incapable_ of doing such a thing."

With that said she spun around and hastily left the lab.

**SVU Squad Room - Tuesday, September 29 – 11:03 a.m.**

Olivia walked back into the squad room, the file tucked under her arm. Munch took one look and knew it was not a good report. At least not for Elliot. When his eyes met hers, she shook her head and then he knew for sure. Fin was watching the exchange and he got up at the same time Munch did, both apparently with the same intention. Comforting their colleague, their friend. But she could not take it. She would break if they said anything, so before they did she held threw the file on her desk and held her hands up to stop them from coming any closer.

She shook her head. "Please…don't. I can't do this." Turning, she nearly ran to the ladies room.

Time seemed suspended and Olivia had no idea how long she had been in there, crouched on the toilet in the very last stall, her arms wrapped around her knees, head down, crying. What was she going to do? Elliot was going to prison for something he did not do. She never faltered in her belief that he was innocent. Never. She knew this man. She knew his heart. He was not guilty of this horrendous crime. She had always been there to protect him, to help him when she wasn't able to be there and he was injured; to talk him down after an exceptionally emotional case; to just be there. But she was powerless to save him this time.

Hearing the door open and someone's footsteps on the black & white tiled floor, she held her breath and made herself quit sniffling. If she was quiet enough no one would ever know she was in there and then she could go back to grieving when they left. Yes. That's what she was doing. She was grieving for Elliot; for his freedom; for his kids; for the loss of him in her life; for herself; for them. Or rather what could have become 'them'.

Becoming very still, she realized the footsteps had stopped and there were no sounds of someone using the facilities. Though she was breathing very slowly and quietly it seemed amplified in the pseudo silence of the room.

"Olivia?" His voice, soft and soothing, floated through the air, echoing lightly.

Her eyes snapped toward the closed, stainless steel door of the stall. He was standing approximately in the middle of the row of six doors. Waiting for her to acknowledge him, she heard his deep, sigh laden with sadness and despair.

"Olivia? Please?"

Biting her lip, she took a deep breath, placed her feet on the floor and slowly slid the latch to the side to open the door. She stepped out of the stall and as soon as she looked at him, he was coming toward her and she took a step toward him and burst into to sobs. He held her and stroked her hair as she let go. And she let go like she could never remember doing in her life for any reason. He held her and let her cry it out. He had never seen her like this and it broke his heart.

"Shh…shh…" he whispered as he continued to stroke her hair and pat her back. "I know it's hard. Shh…shhh."

After what seemed like forever but was only about five minutes, Olivia pulled away from him. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have…I just…I don't know what I'm going to do without him, Captain."

Cragen stared at her. "Maybe you won't have to find out. There's still a few hours and we are _not_ giving up yet."

Sniffling and wiping her nose on the tissue he handed her, she nodded her head. "Yes, Sir."

As he started to open the door for her, she put her hand on his forearm. "Captain…thanks."

Smiling at her, he reached for the door and once again, she stopped him. "I...I _do_ trust you, Don."

Nodding his head, he told her, "I know."

Making their way back to the squad room, Munch looked up from the spreadsheet he was analyzing on the computer to give a small smile, and Fin tipped his head at them while asking questions of someone on the other end of his desk phone.

"Olivia…did you pick up those LUDs from Elliot? I've got something here I'd like to cross-check with them," Munch asked as she came around to her desk to sit down.

She stood right back up, scooping her keys and cell phone into her hand. "Captain, I completely forgot about going by El's…"

"Go." He waved her away.

**Streets of Manhattan - Tuesday, September 29 – 11:49 a.m.**

Once again Kendal watched as Olivia left the precinct. Once again she was alone. He gave her a head start but then quickly fell in behind her. He'd thought she was on her way home, but when she passed her street he realized she was heading for Elliot's. Quickening his pace, he caught up with her. "Olivia."

Startled she turned to face him, her eyes huge, her mouth partly opened. "What do you want?"

"I…I just want to talk to you," he told her as he looked around at the people by-passing them. He pulled her to the side and she jerked her arm from his grip.

"So…talk," she angrily hissed as she glared at him.

He smirked because now he saw her fear was multiplying.

"Not here. Let's go to your place." Again he took her arm, half pushing her down the street.

She tried to wrench free from him again, but this time her efforts were unsuccessful. "Let go of me," she said firmly trying to sound authoritative.

Jerking her against his body, she felt the cold, hard barrel of his gun. "No. _Your_ place." He motioned with his head toward her street. "Try anything, and I'll just start shooting at whoever is nearby."

Alarm filled her eyes as she looked at his bruised face, the swollen lips and eye, the gashes now held in together with steri-strips. After all that had happened, he was completely unfazed by the consequences that awaited him.

Frowning, trying to understand, she asked him, "Don't you know how much trouble you are already in?"

Laughing softly, he smiled. "Trouble? Makes no difference now."

A hard, cold fear washed over her. 'Makes no difference'? That meant he had nothing to lose therefore leaving the SVU crew with nothing to use to bargain with him. "Why are you doing this, Nate?"

Bending his head down, he whispered close to her ear, "Soon it will all make sense, Olivia. It will _all_ make sense."

~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeoeo ~ ~ ~


	11. Unspoken

Well, I managed to keep my promise! Finished before the premiere! I cannot wait until 9:00!!! Hope you like the last chapter of my version. Wish at least some of my story would come true on the show...you know, like all the good EO moments! Dream, dream, dream! Let me know what you think! " ) Bensler

And P.S. Thanks to all of you who have commented, reviewed, encouraged me along the way. You are the best!

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**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:** The opening statement was true. I did finish and it was posted on SVUFiction . com (with no spaces). I am Bensler there as well. I am not sure, but I think this may be my last post on this site. Though many of you are very faithful readers and reviewers and emailers, it does not seem like I have the response on here that I do on the other site. And that may be partly because so many of FF's readers now read on SVUFF, too.

Anyway, unless someone can give me some good reasons to keep posting here...this may be my last story for FF. I kind of hate saying that because this site was the first place I did post and I was totally overwhelmed and humbled by the response I got. It's what propelled me to write more and find that I do have a talent for it. Here I go, playing Olivia...making myself feel guilty...I'll probably talk myself into continuing on here, too, LOL. But, I already have a new story posting at SVUFF - **Benson & Stabler: Too Close**...AND I have a _**sequel**_ to **Keep It in the Family** (the story that got so much response on this site I honestly thought I was in a dream - and it has been on the top ten most read list at SVUFF since September 2008...over a year) almost ready to start posting AND after attending a writers' conference in Atlanta the first of the month, I am actually working on a** 'real'** book...so who knows what I will do, but the time to do everything I need and want is hard to find.

Whatever I decide, I do want to thank all of you for being my 'cyber' friends. Some of you who have emailed me regularly and off and on truly do feel like my real friends. Thank you for all the encouragement, praise, and yes, even constructive criticism about my writing, and kick in the pants when I needed it. You guys truly are awesome and without you I would not have found this new passion called writing. I thank you from the bottom of my 3. " ) Bensler

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**Chapter 11 ~ Unspoken**

**Benson Residence - Tuesday, September 29 – 12:21 p.m.**

Swallowing hard, Olivia pushed back the steadily rising panic that threatened to consume her. Forcing slow, deep breaths, she inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. She had to stay focused, had to maintain control. What little she had left, that is – which was virtually none. It was clear that Kendal was calling the shots and she could see no way for this situation to have a good outcome.

As she attempted to key into the apartment, her hand shook though she valiantly tried to keep it still. Kendal smirked and leaned into her. "Need some help?" He put his hand over hers to unlock the door.

Snatching her hand away from his as though a hot poker had stabbed her, she tried to distance herself from him. He merely laughed and shoved her into the apartment. "You better get used to my touch, honey."

She shot him a terror filled look. Dread. Fear. Repulsion. The emotions washed over her in quick succession bringing with them a lightheadedness that wanted to claim her. The underlying meaning of his words hit her full force. He intended to finish what he had started Friday night. The face of Lowell Harris flooded her mind and she determined Nate Kendal was not going to rape her. At least not while she was alive, because if it came to it, she would die fighting him off. Should it come to that, to her dying, the only regret she would have was the unspoken words between her and Elliot. If somehow she managed to survive this, she purposed in her heart that she _would_ tell him how she feels about him.

**Stabler Residence - Tuesday, September 29 – 12:53 p.m.**

Elliot had called Olivia's cell four or five times. It went directly to voice mail so he tried texting her. No response. The nagging fingers of worry took hold and he decided to call Munch.

"Hey, John. You know where Liv is? She's not answering her cell."

Munch was puzzled. "She left here well over an hour ago headed to your place."

"An hour ago?" Elliot held the fear at bay. "Well, she's not here. She was supposed to come by on her way from the lab," he recounted.

"Yeah…she came back here first and then left for your place," Munch told him.

Elliot knew something was wrong but managed to convince himself that maybe she had some other errands to do. Besides, he had no idea where to start looking for her so he settled back to wait. Waiting was not something he was good at doing. For anything or anyone. He tossed his cell phone on the table by the couch oblivious to the other cell phone it landed beside.

**SVU Squad Room - Tuesday, September 29 – 1:09 p.m.**

Just as Munch hung up with Elliot, Cragen was coming from his office.

"Munch, Fin," the captain said as he motioned for the two detectives. "Warner called. She's got something. Get to the lab."

Fin nodded, and Munch stood up. "Captain, Elliot just called. Wanted to know where Olivia was."

The look on Munch's face told Cragen more than his words. He was just as worried as Cragen felt. "Try calling her?"

"Goes straight to voice mail, not answering texts either."

Immediately Don Cragen's intuition told him something was awry. "Okay. Okay. You two get to the lab. Call me when you find out what Melinda has. I'll go by Olivia's apartment just to check."

Fin and Munch exchanged surprised looks. Rarely did the captain go to the homes of his detectives. They realized he was worried which was also rare. Rare, at least, that he allowed it to be seen. As they turned to leave, Alex Cabot walked into the squad room.

"Captain, Detectives," she nodded as her eyes met each man's before she turned to Cragen. "Some interesting things came up in the course of looking over some information on Kendal."

All three men eagerly waited for her to continue, but she hesitated. "All right. What?" Cragen asked.

"Not sure of the significance of this…it may mean nothing…but I came across papers Kendal filed five years ago changing his name from Kendall to Kendal."

Fin looked at the other men. "So? What's the big deal with that?"

Munch shrugged it off, too. "In the course of doing genealogical research for my family, I've found many instances of names being spelled differently. Maybe he found that the correct spelling had only one 'l'. I don't see how this ties in. Captain?"

Cragen frowned in deep thought, before shaking his head. "Can't think of a reason for it to be an issue either."

"Well, like I said, I don't know if it's important, but I thought you should know," Alex told them. "The other thing is that Nate Kendal and Rena West dated ten years ago."

"I knew he knew her! Her sister acted really wigged out when she first saw him at the hospital," Fin exclaimed.

"And there was DV filed on him, but she refused to press charges," she added.

The men looked at each other. "Well, this sure changes some things," Munch said as he cocked an eyebrow.

"I need to get back," Alex told them.

"We'll walk with you." Cragen took her by the arm and led her out.

**Benson Residence - Tuesday, September 29 – 1:20 p.m.**

Nate had gotten them a couple of sodas and made her sit on the couch beside him. She refused the drink, but he sipped on his, holding it in his left hand, his right hand running the barrel of the gun up and down Olivia's thigh. It was all she could do not deck him, but the gun in his hand was a reminder of that he was the one with ultimate control. She felt nauseous. He had said he wanted to talk, to explain some things to her.

Taking a long swig of the soda, he shifted so he was closer to her and now faced her. He stared at her so long she became increasingly uncomfortable. "You know, I first saw you months ago at that ballistics seminar in April," he said, his voice soft and quiet. "I thought you were one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen."

_What_? She racked her brain trying to remember seeing him. But of course, how would she remember – there had been hundreds of NYPD personnel at the seminar.

Managing to find her voice, she asked, "Did we meet?"

Laughing, he took another swallow of his drink. "No. But I watched you from a distance and knew one day we _would_ meet."

Oh, no! Had he been stalking her since then, she wondered? Is that what all this was about? Him wanting to be with her? Why didn't she know that? Why did she not sense this ulterior motive? She a sex crimes investigator, for heaven's sake! She was trained to spot these perverts and yet she had been duped by one disguised as one of their own. Anger at herself washed over her and now she really had to keep herself from punching him.

His eyes ran over her body and he smiled. Not a good smile, but one that made her cringe. He trailed the gun from her temple down her jaw and neck. The coldness of it chilled her to the bone but she knew it was not really from the gun. He continued to drag it over her left breast down her abdomen and along her thigh again. It was all she could do not to jump, smack him, do something to protect herself.

Clearing his throat, he looked past her, staring into space. "You got brothers and sisters?"

Puzzled at this change of subjects, she frowned slightly and answered, "No. I mean, yes, a…a half-brother." Not one to discuss her family situation with even those closest to her, she certainly did not want to discuss it with this sleazebag.

Kendal looked at her questioningly. "You're not sure?"

"Uh…I…just found out about him a couple of years ago."

He nodded as if he understood. "Why?"

"I…I never…uh…never knew my father. But found out he had another child after me…my brother."

"You close to him?"

"No…not really. I mean we get along…but I don't see him much. Lives in another state."

"I had a brother. Older than me. I really looked up to him. Our father was a drunk. My brother was a like a substitute father, you know?"

Noticing he said 'had' not 'have', she wondered what happened to him. Why was he telling her all of this? She didn't want to know his life history, but she knew she should keep him talking. That would buy time for her to figure something out or for the guys to realize something had happened and come looking for her.

"My mother was an alcoholic," she stammered.

His eyes flew to hers, searching to see if she were telling the truth. "Yeah? Then why weren't you with your dad?"

The knot that suddenly filled her throat made her voice raspy as she answered, "She…uh…it was a one n-night stand. She didn't know his name."

Kendal looked at her, his gaze softening. "Guess we both had a crappy childhood."

"At least you had your brother," she reminded him.

He chuckled but it was sarcastic. "Yeah, I had my brother. I was only nine when he joined the service. Longest four years of my life. But he came back and things were better at home because Dad had gotten sick and couldn't slap Mom and me around anymore. Plus the last time he hit Mom, I hit him back."

Olivia shuddered to think of a young boy realizing the only way he had to protect his mother was to hit his father. She felt sorry for Nate Kendal. Just a little bit because she knew all about physical abuse.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Yeah, me too."

"You said you _had_ a brother. Something happen to him?"

Nate looked over at her again, his eyes now hard and cold. "He was murdered."

The gasp was out of her mouth before she realized it had been formed. "Oh…I'm sorry."

Kendal looked at her like he was trying to decide if she really was sorry. "January will be seven years ago."

"Wh-what happened?"

"Police said he was running drugs."

"That what got him killed?"

The laughter started softly but built to a loud roar. "No. He wasn't involved with drugs. I know my brother."

"Then what happened?"

He snorted, "Another cop killed him."

Her eyes widened as her lips fell open with surprise. Another cop? Kendal's brother had been a cop? Her mind went into overdrive, thoughts bouncing off the walls of her brain until they began to fall into place. All of a sudden things started to make sense. A lot of sense. And as it did, she knew without a doubt that her life and that of the entire Special Victims Unit was in imminent jeopardy.

**CSU Crime Lab - Tuesday, September 29 – 1:25 p.m.**

Munch & Fin listened in awe at what Dr. Melinda Warner had to tell them about additional testing on the DNA found under the Rena West's fingernails.

"Since it involved an NYPD detective, I sent it to the FBI for analysis. I just got the report back. Their lab is much more sophisticated and they were able to extract additional DNA from the samples. DNA that gave us another hit in the system…" she continued to explain what the analysis had revealed. When she finished she slipped the report into a large white enveloped and handed the package to Munch.

He thanked her then turned to Fin. "Cragen needs to know about this ASAP."

Fin was already on his cell phone. "Captain, you ain't gonna b'lieve what Warner had for us."

**Stabler Residence - Tuesday, September 29 – 1:25 p.m.**

The walls seemed to be closing in on him. From his seat on the couch, Elliot's legs bounced restlessly; he sighed; ran his hands over his head and face; cracked his neck; popped his knuckles. _Where_ was she? He could not continue to sit here and do nothing. In less than three hours his life would come completely apart. In less than three hours he would cross over to the other side of the law. But he was _innocent_.

Jumping up he began to pace the apartment. From the living room to the kitchen to the bedroom and back again. Breathing hard, he stopped at the window, leaned forward on the sill and stared out at the overcast day. Forget about him and his impending arrest, he was sick with worry about his partner. _'Olivia…_where_ are you?' _The words were barely audible, yet he wondered if somehow she would hear and know he was worrying about her. If somehow she could tell him where she was and if she were okay.

Slamming his hands against the window frame, he turned to eye his cell phone. Why didn't he think of this before? Crossing the room, he picked it up from the table and flipped it open. It was dead! Releasing an anguished growl, he threw it across the room where it bounced off of the kitchen bar and spun in a circle before coming to rest in the middle of the dining area. Then he noticed the other cell on the table. Frowning, he picked it up. Maureen's? He could not believe she had left here and not called looking for it. She had stopped by briefly last night. This was good luck for him. He opened it and dialed Olivia's home phone. He kicked himself for not thinking to call her land line earlier. He listened to the ringing, praying that she would answer, hoping that she was at home.

**Benson Residence - Tuesday, September 29 – 1:26 p.m.**

Startling at the ringing phone on the end table beside her, she stared at the incoming call, the number on her caller ID. Olivia looked over at Nate. "Uh…I really need to get this. It's my contractor. I'm having my mother's apartment renovated."

Nate moved closer to her, invading her personal space, and looked at the caller ID. "No name, just a number. What makes you think it's your contractor?"

"I know the number by heart. Been dealing with this for a long time and he's really hard to get in touch with. Do you mind?" she asked him.

"Why doesn't he have your cell number?"

"Didn't want him bothering me while I was working," she explained, silently begging him to let her answer before it quit ringing or went to the recorder.

Eyes shifting between her and the ringing phone, he finally nodded, giving her permission to answer. Permission? Did she really just think that to herself?

Not second guessing his acquiescence, she quickly reached for the phone and spoke, "Hello."

"Hey. My phone died, using Mareen's."

" Greg…hi. I know. Glad you called." Her voice was shaky, but she hoped Kendal didn't know her well enough to recognize the fear in it.

'Greg'? He was sure this was Olivia. Why did she call him Greg? And why did her voice sound like that? Like she was upset.

"Liv…it's me," Elliot frowned. "Thought you were coming by for a bit."

"I hear you. Listen, the tile that came in? It's not what we ordered."

"Liv? It's _Elliot_."

"Oh, yeah. I know. I know. But, you _gotta_ send someone to pick it up. Dana understands."

"Dana? Who the…?" He shook his head to clear it. "Liv, what's going on?"

"Yep, the wrong tile; it was totally not what we thought it was," she continued.

"What?"

"Looked like the real thing, but it wasn't."

"You okay?" Elliot was confused but realized she was trying to tell him something.

"No, no. Just get someone to come get it, okay? So, you're at lunch, huh? Donna with you?"

"Donna? Dana?" Elliot shook his head and laughed. "I gotta tell you, Liv, I have _no_ idea what you are talking about."

"What was her last name? You know, Greg, Elliot still hasn't met her."

"_Donna_," he repeated totally confused. "Greg? You can't just tell me what's going on?"

"No...can't do that. But, yeah, Greg, Elliot thinks she and I are so much alike…do you?"

"You and Donna? Who the heck is Donna?"

"Well, if you think about it maybe you'd see the similaries between us. Even I see them." She tried to sound teasing and lighthearted.

"Similarities between you and Donna? Donna who?"

She tried for a chuckle. "Okay, well, okay, if you don't see the similarities that's fine. You're acting like you're my husband. Just make sure the next order of tile is right or it will be the last one and I'll have to find a new contractor."

Suddenly something clicked. He didn't know what the diatribe about tile and her looking like some Donna and him acting like a husband was about, but he knew something was off. "Liv…something going on? What? Kendal?"

"Yes. That's right. Just please get someone to pick up the tile. Look I gotta go. See you soon. Right…_very_ soon." She hung up the phone and took a deep breath, praying that Elliot understood and Kendal did not.

And then it hit him. "I'm on the way!" he said aloud even though she had already ended the call.

**Captain Cragen's Car - Tuesday, September 29 – 1:28 p.m.**

Cragen had tried calling Olivia himself but to no avail. He was truly concerned. Having just forced Kendal off the investigation and out of his squad, his gut told him that whatever was up with Olivia, Kendal was involved.

He was just parking in front of Olivia's building when his cell phone rang. "Yeah, Fin."

If someone had been with him they would have seen his face pale. As it were, he felt the icy grip of fear and a heaviness settle in his stomach as he listened to what Fin had to tell him.

"Meet me at Olivia's. I'm about to go up." Ending the call, he opened the door to the car and made his way to the building. Since there was no answer when he buzzed her apartment, he contacted the building supervisor, identified himself, explained the circumstances, and followed him up to Olivia's apartment.

**Benson Residence - Tuesday, September 29 – 1:28 p.m.**

After the phone call, Kendal disconnected it from the wall. He then pulled Olivia up from the couch and wrapped his arms around her. As he tried to kiss her, she pushed at him trying to get away.

"No. Please, Nate. Don't," she begged.

The smile was downright evil. "Come on, Liv. You think after the other night I'm going to let it go without having you? Without knowing what it's like to be with you? This was never my intention to begin with, but when I saw you…I knew I had to have you. And after the way you came onto me the other night..." he laughed, "I _know_ you want it, too."

He jammed the gun into her side and with his free hand he held her face to his as he roughly kissed her. She didn't kiss him back, but she didn't fight him off either. She didn't know what to do. If she tried anything he might shoot or the gun could go off accidentally.

Pushing her down onto the couch, he straddled her and when he had her where he knew she could not fight him off he laid the gun on the coffee table. She saw him do it, but it was out of her reach. Smiling at her, he began to unbutton her blouse.

Now she could not help it. The fight or flight phenomenon kicked in alongside her police training and she screamed, "Get off me!"

Fighting for all she was worth did no good. He had her securely pinned to the couch as his hands slid over her body. Now he ripped the blouse open, the remaining buttons flying into the air and scattering. Fists balled, she tried to hit him but he deftly deflected each swing. When one finally did connect with his jaw, he instantly backhanded her.

The pain was numbing, but didn't stop her. The taste of the warm blood in her mouth only fueled her determination and she swung at him again. This time her fist landed just the outside corner of his right eye where Cragen had caused a cut. The strip tore away and blood spurted from the wound.

"You little…" he hit her again, but this time with his fist.

It nearly knocked her senseless and she shook her head to keep from passing out. Elliot. Elliot! She needed someone to help her. Now. And suddenly she heard someone calling her name.

**Hallway Outside of Benson Residence** **Tuesday, September 29 – 1:35 p.m.**

Cragen's blood chilled as he heard Olivia scream and then yell 'get off me'.

"Call 911!" he yelled at the super as he pushed him aside and kicked the door in. Gun drawn he quickly scanned the apartment.

"NYPD. Freeze."

His eyes landed on Nate Kendal straddled over Olivia and he was powerless to stop him as Kendal's hand raised again.

Cragen didn't even hear the gunshot before his body was wracked with a searing pain as the bullet tore through him. It had been years since he had been shot. In fact, it was his second year on the job when he was still walking a beat. He was shot in the leg by a suspect in a robbery and the pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. And now he remembered it all too well.

The impact threw him backward causing him to go down. Kendal, the gun still trained on the captain, had momentarily forgotten about Olivia. She took the opportunity to run to Cragen's side.

"Captain!" She fell to his side and pulled his shirt away.

He groaned at the pain, his hand going to his right shoulder. "Olivia, you okay?"

She could see the bleeding was severe. "Nate, he needs help. Let me call for an ambulance. Please." She ran to the kitchen for some towels which she pressed into the wound.

Kendal came a few steps closer, the gun still in his hand though it now pointed at the floor. "No. No help. Justice must be served."

"Nate, please?"

"Olivia…DNA…Melinda sent to the FBI lab…" Already, the captain was having trouble maintaining consciousness, his words becoming slow and methodical. "Kendal's DNA under West's fingernails…he-he got Elliot's skin from under his own nails the night they fought…"

Olivia stared at her captain and then looked at Nate in disbelief, remembering the fight between Nate and Elliot and the long scratch that Elliot had down his neck. Nate had taken Elliot's skin from under his nail and put it under Rena's. How? Then something registered.

"You know her…_knew_ her before this happened." She was bewildered at the whole thing.

Kendal was amused. "Yes. She's my old girlfriend. She'd do anything for me. When I dumped her, she nearly went insane, so when I told her all she had to do was help me put the man who murdered Brad in jail she was more than willing to cry rape."

Muffled footsteps in the hall alluded to the fact that they had more company. Elliot cautiously peeked around the open door, his gun extended in front of him. His horror filled eyes stared at Captain Cragen lying on the floor with Olivia holding towels to an obvious gunshot wound. Then his eyes locked with Kendal's.

Elliot stood with his gun on Kendal and Kendal's gun on him. "Liv? Captain okay?"

"He needs medical attention."

He nodded. "You okay?" The sight of her blouse unopened, buttons missing, her bra visible when she moved a certain way nearly killed him. He knew that Kendal had tried to finish what he began the other night and it set him on fire with rage.

"Yes. El, just get out of here."

"Oh, he's not going anywhere," Kendal cocked the gun and leveled it at Elliot.

"Nate, let him go. This is already bad enough."

Kendal laughed, "But not as bad as it's going to get, honey."

Elliot's jaw jumped at Kendal's use of the endearment.

"Why, Kendal? Why'd you try to frame Elliot?" Cragen asked in a weakening voice.

"Stabler knows why. Tell him." He turned his glare to Elliot.

Elliot shook his head. "I had no choice, Kendal." Elliot had already put two and two together and knew exactly who Nate Kendal was and why he was doing this.

"There's _always_ a choice."

"Your brother was going to shoot me. It was him or me."

"No! He wouldn't have shot you! Brad was not like that! He wasn't!"

"He wanted to die but couldn't do it himself so he left me no choice. I'm sorry."

"No. He was a brother in blue…how could you…he _wouldn't_ have shot you."

"Nate, he knew he was caught. He knew he would face a trial and jail and he couldn't take knowing people would find out what he had done, and that he would spend the rest of his life locked up," Olivia told him, as she still held the towels to Cragen's shoulder.

"You framed him! You made it look like he was a drug dealer! Brad wasn't like that!"

"Nate, it's all in the reports. Did you read them?"

"Yeah, I read them. You put what you wanted in there. It's not true. You ruined my brother's life, his reputation. You killed him and I was going to make sure you knew exactly how it felt to have everyone think you had done something that you were innocent of…how it felt to not be able to set the story straight. I had it all worked out, too." He looked at his watch. "Only three more hours and six minutes and you would have been on your way to prison. But this is better. I get to take you all down this way."

"Son, you're going to jail for you have already done…don't make it worse by killing someone." Cragen's voice trailed off as he faded from loss of blood.

He scoffed. "Killing someone? I'm already dead so now you're all going to die."

Terror shot through Elliot at those words and Olivia looked at him with panic etched into her features.

Cragen seemed to have passed out and Olivia was extremely concerned. "Nate, please let me call EMS. The captain needs help."

"No." He looked at Elliot. "Put your gun down."

Elliot shook his head. Kendal stepped closer. "I said put the gun down."

"No. You want to shoot me then shoot me. But rest assured I'm taking you with me." Elliot tightened his grip on the glock.

At this moment, sirens could be heard and they were getting closer. "You call someone?" he asked Elliot.

Elliot would not answer and Kendal pointed the gun at Cragen and Olivia. "You call for backup, Cragen?"

Don was pretty much out of it, but he managed to nod. Kendal took another step, aiming the gun at Cragen's head. It was against his nature to stand by and do nothing, especially when someone he cared about was in danger, so Elliot charged him and just as he did Kendal shifted the gun toward Elliot and fired. Almost simultaneously, Kendal fell backward, falling against the recliner before landing on the living floor. A pool of blood darkened his white shirt right in the middle of his chest.

Elliot was in shock because he knew he had not fired his own gun and yet Kendal went down from a bullet. He was also shocked, and relieved, to realize he had _not_ been shot. Turning slowly he saw Munch just inside the doorway of the apartment, Fin right behind him, guns in hand.

EMS arrived minutes after Munch shot Kendal. There was nothing to be done for Nate Kendal. The shot had ruptured his aorta. But Cragen had been quickly stabilized. The GSW was a through and through in the shoulder. He'd be back at work in no time. Once given fluids he regained consciousness long enough to give a few orders to his crew before he passed out from the pain medication they administered.

Munch, Fin, Olivia and Elliot watched all the activity and quietly spoke to one another.

"How'd you guys figure all this out?" Olivia asked Munch and Fin.

"When Warner told us about the DNA…it was a match to not only Nate but his brother, Brad, came up as another possible suspect. He spelled his last name with two 'l's and Alex had just told us that she ran across some paperwork where Nate had dropped one of the 'l's five years ago," Munch explained.

"Yeah, that's not all. She told us Kendal and West used to date. Even had a DV call on him against her. She dropped charges. And those tissues at the scene…Kendal musta got 'em out of the trash cause the FBI lab found one of his hairs – probably from his arm - on one of them."

Elliot asked Olivia, "When did _you_ realize who Kendal really was?"

"After we got to my place, he wanted to talk. Told me he had a brother that was murdered by another cop. Said he'd been accused of running drugs and that it was almost seven years ago. It just all fell into place when I tried to remember anyone with the last name of Kendal. Brad Kendall and the mothers he had smuggling cocaine in the baby formula cans, came to mind." She sighed and looked at the spot on her carpet that was stained with her captain's blood. "I thought I would never be able to make you understand what I meant."

Elliot laughed and looked at Munch and Fin. "Yeah, you shoulda heard her. Talking about Dana and Donna; wanting me to pickup kitchen tiles that were wrong ; calling me Greg and telling me I acted like a husband. That's what did it." He looked at Olivia again. "When you said I was acting like your husband, then it all clicked. Then I remembered Donna, Dana, Greg and the tiles."

They all laughed. Fin said, "Yeah, imagine the two of you hooked up for real. You already act like an old married couple, fight like one anyways."

Elliot and Olivia exchanged embarrassed glances as they each blushed just a little.

"Hey, undercover as Greg and Dana Elliot buying tiles for a kitchen renovation we got along just fine," Elliot said defensively hoping to play it all off as a big joke.

"Yea, well if you ever _do_ renovate a kitchen together make sure the tiles are _not_ filled with cocaine," Munch added.

"We're taking Captain Cragen to emergency, now," the lead EMT said aloud to the group.

"We'll follow Cragen to the hospital. You're going to need to inform the Chief of Ds and IAB." Munch smiled and he and Fin trailed behind the stretcher and the EMS personnel.

Elliot looked at his watch. "It's only two-fifty. I had another hour and ten minutes of freedom."

"That was close, El."

"Too close. You gonna go with me to see the Chief and Tucker?"

Laughing she took his arm, "No way would I miss seeing the look on Tucker's face when he finds out he _can't_ send you to Rikers."

The main exit of her apartment had been sealed off by CSU so Olivia led him out the back way. As they walked out of the back door of her building, heading back to the precinct, Olivia was so overcome by what had just happened and what could have happened. So overwhelmed and so grateful that Elliot would now be cleared. Before she had time to analyze it, brood over it and come up with a myriad of reasons why she shouldn't, she stopped. Right on the bottom of the stairway leading into the alley, she stopped.

Catching Elliot off guard with her sudden change of direction, he had a surprised look on his face when she turned, took his face between her hands and pulled him into a kiss. Then her left arm went around his neck, her right under his left to bring him against her. At first he was frozen, his hands at his side. He closed his eyes as their lips met and she could not remember a sweeter, gentler yet more passionate kiss. When he returned the kiss and brought her closer to him, wrapping her in his arms, she thought she would be happy to stay right there the rest of her days.

The memories of another hug came to mind. It had only last seconds. This one could last as long as they wanted. This kiss held more unspoken meaning than she thought she would be able to convey with words, but she had made a promise.

"El?"

"Mmmm?" He was busy peppered her face with light kisses.

"El? I need to tell you something."

"Yeah…I need to tell something, too." He pulled back, his eyes piercingly blue full of emotion. "Olivia, I love you."

Breaking into a huge smile, she told him, "_That's_ what I was going to tell _you_. Elliot, I love you, too. So much."

Grinning, he kissed her again then dropped his arms from around her. He jammed his hand in his front left pocket and when he pulled it out his fist was closed and he held it out to her.

"Here. Got something for you." He took her hand and opened his in her palm.

Tears sprung to her eyes as she stared at the gleaming circle of gold. His wedding ring.

"The divorce is final today. I'm free, Liv."

Yes, he was free. From the bonds of a dead marriage and free from being falsely accused and on his way to prison. Free to pursue a relationship with her. She smiled so big she thought her face would freeze like that.

"El…uh…Elliot…I…I…"

Before she could say anything in response, she felt a tickle in her nose.

"Aaaaachoooo!" She sneezed and then did it two more times in succession, sniffling after the last one.

They looked at each other and both started laughing and Elliot pulled her to him, kissing her again. "Come on. After we leave one PP, I know a place that serves great chicken noodle soup. And I've already got tons of Kleenex!"

Sometimes it is necessary for life to become a bit unstable in order for us to realize that stability comes in many different forms. Health. A job. A hobby. God. Friends. Family. Even the partner that sometimes _drives_ you to that unstable place in your mind may be the only one who can bring you back to center, to all things that are _not_ unstable.

~ ~ ~ ~ eoeoeoeoe ~ ~ ~ ~

**Love to hear what you thought of the chapter/story. " ) Bensler**


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